The Pittsburgh Pirates are often overlooked in the NL Central discussion, but Pittsburgh was in it for much of 2018 and even added at the deadline. The Bucs ended the season above-.500, but in fourth place in the division. The St. Louis Cardinals were just a spot ahead in the standings. These two teams will meet for the first time Monday in 2019 in the Pirates’ home opener.
First pitch for this MLB game between the Cardinals and Pirates is scheduled for Monday, April 1, 2019, at 1:05 p.m. ET at PNC Park. The matchup will be shown on ESPN.
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Odds Analysis
The Cardinals had the slight edge head-to-head last year and it’s not really surprising as St. Louis finished a few games ahead of the Pirates in the standings.
Pittsburgh is often left out of discussions on the NL Central with the Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers all stacking claim to that title of best team in the Central, at least on paper.
The Pirates could be sneaky this year and have a good pitching staff which includes a strong bullpen.
Felipe Vazquez is one of the game’s better closers while Keone Kela, Richard Rodriguez, and Kyle Crick are each coming off strong campaigns. Vazquez ended the year with 37 saves and a 2.70 ERA. In fact, all of these listed relievers posted sub-3 ERAs.
That said, the Pirates did lose their opener when they gave up four runs in the seventh inning though most of the runs were credited to the starter, Jameson Taillon, who lost it in the seventh.
Rodriguez and Nick Burdi were given an inning a piece to get out of the jam. Rodriguez did give up an earned run on one hit and one walk allowed.
The Cardinals bullpen, meanwhile, was a problem early in the year as Greg Holland imploded and St. Louis lacked a closer to stabilize things. Now, they have Andrew Miller who, although not a closer, allows Jordan Hicks to be used in that role.
Vazquez is more proven at the end of the game than Hicks, but Hicks, Miller, John Brebbia, Dominnic Leone and former top prospect, Alex Reyes, for a solid crop of relief amrs
Probable Pitchers
This game’s pitching matchup would be one of the better ones in the game a few years ago as Adam Wainwright is set to take the ball for the Cardinals against the Pirates’ Chris Archer.
Wainwright is now 37-years old and coming off three straight seasons with an ERA north of 4.45. He made just eight starts last year due to injury and is now five years removed from his last full, good season when he went 20-9 with a 2.38 ERA in 2014.
The veteran right-hander is no longer the pitcher he once was, but he still grinds out every start and he’s not quite ready to retire. He’s more a back-end starter at this point, but he’s constantly looking to get better. Even at his age, he spent the winter adding pitches and trying to re-invent himself.
Ultimately, he’s still coming off a 4.46 ERA and 1.463 WHIP in 40.1 innings. Besides, even when he was good, he still struggled in Pittsburgh with a career 5.54 ERA at PNC, one of his worst marks in any stadium.
On the other side, Archer was slow to come around after his trade to the Pirates last summer, but after ditching the windup and pitched to a 2.70 ERA with 36 strikeouts in his last 30 innings, improving like many starters do in Pittsburgh.
He’s only 30-years old so he shouldn’t be regressing just yet. He’s had an ERA over four the last three years, but his good stuff is still in there as he showed at the very end of 2018.
The righty pitched well this spring and notched 18 strikeouts in 11.2 official Grapefruit League innings. He still has great stuff and can strike out anyone, but he’ll need to get back to keeping the ball in the park a bit better than he has the last couple years.
Spending most of his career in the AL, Archer doesn’t have a huge track record against the Cardinals, but has pitched okay in two starts.
Live Betting
Offensively, there was a sizeable gap in runs scored a season ago and that gap is likely to widen given the acquisition of Paul Goldschmidt, an MVP-caliber player.
Goldschmidt gives the Cardinals a legitimate threat in the order which takes pressure on the rest of the team, including Matt Carpenter who slides back in at the top of the lineup. In the opener, Goldy managed to reach base just once on a walk. He also was sat down on strikes on three different occasions.
The Cardinals scored four runs in the loss. The Pirates scored three against the Reds and also lost. Pittsburgh got a solo shot from Corey Dickerson in the opening game, but that wasn’t enough as the team went 5-for-31 in the game.
The Pirates are dealing with a number of injuries at the moment, including having both Lonnie Chisenhall and Gregory Polanco on the IR. Those are key offensively holes that have be filled. JB Shuck, a journeyman outfielder, is one of the fill-ins for a moment.
With Josh Bell slated in the middle of the order along with Dickerson highlights the lack of a big thumper in the middle.
MLB Pick
The Cardinals will win more games this season than the Pirates, but the Pirates have a good pitching staff and Archer is part of that.
Look for the 30-year old to throw an excellent game and the team to grab an early lead against Wainwright who will give up his share or runs. The Pirates have a strong bullpen which should be able to hold that lead.
Pittsburgh’s offense is lacking and there’s no clear middle of the order threat, but there’s enough good hitters on the roster to scratch across some runs against Wainwrights’ diminished arm.
MLB Score Prediction: Pirates 7, Cardinals 4
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