A crucial series in the NL Central picks back up on ESPN Tuesday night when the Pittsburgh Pirates will look to chew off some of their deficit behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card race.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
A trip to Oakland to face a very bad A’s team was just what the doctor ordered for Clint Hurdle’s team as the Buccos swept the series to even their overall record for the season up at 41 up and 41 down. Now that Andrew McCutchen and company are a .500 team, they need to start pulling away from the breakeven point the other direction. In order to do that, they’ll need to start playing better ball away from PNC Park with the club three games under and down $146 overall as a visitor.
Just like the Pirates, the Redbirds busted out the brooms this past weekend as well after going into Milwaukee and taking all three from the Brew Crew. After dropping three of four to the rival Royals, it was a much-needed bounce back for the Cards who chewed off a couple games of the deficit behind the Cubs in the division standings. As it is, St. Louis currently sits one game in back of the Mets for one of the Wild Card slots, and is a +1300 underdog to win the NL.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
While scoring runs hasn’t been as easy as it was a season ago, pitching has been even tougher for a Pittsburgh team that just hasn’t looked up to snuff the first three months of the season. The hope in calling Jameson Taillon up was to aid Gerrit Cole atop the rotation and allow him to gain confidence at the big league level. Three of the rookies five overall starts have been of quality, and he enters start No. 6 since being called up off a stellar performance at Seattle where he limited the Mariners to just 1 ER and struck out six through 6 IP to log his second MLB win.
Mike Leake signed a lucrative $80 million deal to pitch for the Cardinals every fifth day at the outset of the season. So far, it’s safe to say the team hasn’t gotten its money’s worth with the veteran just 5-6 overall with a 4.13 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over the course of his 16 total starts. The Cardinals have won just seven of his 16 overall trips to the bump, and the team has won just two of his seven made starts under the lights.
LIVE BETTING
Since sweeping the Cardinals in their opening series of the season and then adding on one more win, St. Louis has battled back to win four of the last five overall meetings between these hated rivals.
That said, the Buccos have made Busch Stadium their home away from home of late in taking five of the last seven with the over cashing in five of those contests.
QUICK PICK
This is a crucial four game series for both of these baseball teams. Pittsburgh can make its way back up the Wild Card ladder if its wins this series, while St. Louis can keep their rivals at an arm’s length if they defend their turf. Though Leake is 9-4 with a 3.13 ERA and .257 batting average against lifetime against Pittsburgh, I lean to the Buccos a bit in this one with the Cards offense never seeing Taillon in live action before. That should give them the advantage early on to hang a crooked number, and I like the Pirates bullpen better overall.
MLB Odds: Pirates 5, Cardinals 4
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals is scheduled for Tuesday, July 5, 2016, at 8:09 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium. The matchup can be seen live on ESPN.
