Pirates vs Cardinals Baseball Picks
The Pirates may be in 4th place but they are officially back in the race. Last year they stood toe to toe with St. Louis and didn’t blink but so far they are blowing this opportunity to gain ground on the Cardinals, losing the first two games of the series.
Pittsburgh Pirates (47-43) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (49-42)
Wednesday July 9
Busch Stadium – St. Louis, MO
8:15PM
Probable pitchers:
PIT: Brandon Cumpton (R)
STL: Lance Lynn (R)
Moneyline: St. Louis -135. Pittsburgh +125
Total: 8
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Pittsburgh
Gerrit Cole was just placed on the DL which is another punch in the stomach that this team needs to respond from.
They need to stop the losing before they go on to Cincinnati or else all their good work over the last 6 weeks will have been for nothing.
The numbers on Brandon Cumpton are a little deceiving because he had one absolutely disastrous outing where he gave up 10ER in just 3 innings.
Since then he has given up just 10ER over his last 5 starts showing more and more that he belongs at this level.
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He may not have the upside of some other pitchers in the Pirates system but he is helping them make the push they are currently on.
St. Louis
The NL Central is going to be even tougher than it was last year with Milwaukee leading the way and everyone but Chicago in the fight. St. Louis heads into Wednesday with a slight lead but it will evaporate quickly if they can’t close out the Bucs over the next couple of games.
If they are going to continue to stay in the race they need their offense to start producing more. They are 29th in runs and the pitchers on the DL keep piling up. Matt Holliday and Allen Craig have only 12 homes between them.
They and the rest of the offense needs to respond.
Lance Lynn does not make a lot of headlines and is not the best Cardinals starter but he is once again putting up very good numbers and is a big time winner. If he keeps up his current pace this will turn out to be his best season yet which is pretty good considering he has won 33 games over his first two seasons.
Lynn is 0-1 against Pittsburgh this season but is a far more effective pitcher at home too.
I am expecting a well pitched game on Wednesday.
Usually when these teams meet of late there is some electricity in the air and this one should have that kind of feel. Lynn is used to it by now but I am expecting Cumpton to rise to the occasion. Take the value with the underdogs in this one.
STL is not what it has been this year.
Total prediction: Under
Score prediction: Pittsburgh 4 – St. Louis 3
