Pittsburgh Pirates vs St Louis Cardinals MLB Odds, Betting Preview 9/11/18

Major league Baseball action on Tuesday evening and a pair of teams from the National League Central will square off as the Pittsburgh Pirates duke it out with the St Louis Cardinals. This is game two of a three-game series and will take place at Busch Stadium in St Louis. It has a start time of 8:15 pm ET.

Lines: Pittsburgh +133… St Louis -145 … Over/Under 8

Pitching Matchup

Taking the hill for the Pirates will be Joe Musgrove and he has gone 6-8 with a 3.75 ERA in 17 starts on the year, including 2-3 with a 3.56 ERA in seven starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 7-7 with a 5.03 ERA in 30 games (17 starts) on the road and 4-2 with a 3.11 ERA in 15 games (six starts) during Sept/ Oct. He has gone 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals, including 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in one start here at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals will trot out Miles Mikolas and he has gone 14-4 with a 3.06 ERA in 28 starts on the year, including 6-4 with a 2.31 ERA in 14 starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 6-4 with a 2.27 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) here at Busch Stadium and 1-2 with a 3.04 ERA in six games (four starts) against the Pirates.

A Look At The Pirates

The Pirates will not be a part of the postseason party this year, but they have been playing very well of late. They did lose game one of this series on Monday night but had won their previous five games in a row. They are just looking to play spoiler in this series as the Cardinals still have hopes of landing a playoff spot. The Pirates had allowed just 10 runs during their winning streak, but they were lit up for eight runs on Monday night. They look to get that pitching back tonight with Joe Musgrove, who has been very solid for them this year but has struggled of late with a 6.06 ERA in his last three starts. The Pirates have gone 31-38 on the road this year and they have averaged 4.58 rpg and have allowed 4.75 rpg in those games.    

The Pirates had a 4-0 lead in the game, but the Cards tied it in the 4th inning. Pittsburgh then had a 6-4 lead late, but the Cards went ahead for good by scoring four runs in the bottom of the 8th. Josh Bell had three hits and an RBI, while Starling Marte had a hit and two RBIs in the game. Marte (19), Josh Harrison (8), and Colin Moran (9) all went deep for the Pirates in the loss. Trevor Williams got a no-decision after allowing four ERs on six hits in 5.0 innings of work. Edgar Santana allowed three ERs on two hits and a walk without recording an out in the 8th to take the loss. He is now 2-3 with a 2.84 ERA on the year.   

A Look At The Cardinals

The St Louis Cardinals are just 3.5 games out of first in the National League Central and they lead the Dodgers by two games for the 2nd wildcard slot. They are in pretty decent shape right now, but they still have plenty of work to do. The cards have won four of their last six games after taking game one by a score of 8-7, but they are also just 4-5 in their last nine games. They need a bit more consistency if they are to keep their wildcard slot or even move closer to the to the Cubs in the Central. The Cardinals have gone 38-31 here at home for the year and they have averaged 4.25 rpg and have allowed 4.04 rpg in those games.

The Cards came back twice in the game on Monday and they really needed that win after losing two of three games in Detroit. Matt Adams led the team with three RBIs, while Paul Dejong and Harrison Bader each had two. Adams hit their lone homer in the game and he now has 21 on the year, including three since joining the Cardinals. Adam Wainwright didn’t have a good start as he allowed four ERs on seven hits in 5.0 innings of work. He got a no-decision while grabbing the win was John Brebbia and he is now 2-3 with a 3.56 ERA on the year. Carlos Martinez picked up his 3rd save of the year.

Trends

The Pirates are:

19-7 in their last 26 when their opponent allows 5 runs or more in their previous game

5-1 in their last 6 games on grass

17-43 in their last 60 road games vs. a team with a winning home record

The Under is 16-5 in their last 21 vs. a team with a winning record

The Under is 32-15-4 in their last 51 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15

The Cardinals are:

22-9 in their last 31 games on grass

10-2 in Mikolas’ last 12 starts vs. a team with a losing record

1-4 in their last 5 after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game

The Over is 15-7 in their last 22 when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game

The Over is 4-1 in Mikolas’ last 5 starts on grass