The St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates go back to the MLB betting grind with a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Friday.
Date: Friday, 14th July
Time: 7:05 PM
Venue: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Online gambling odds for fans who bet on baseball: TBD
St. Louis Cardinals (43-45)
On the mound: Mike Leake (RHP, 6-7, 3.12 ERA, 74 K) allowed the Marlins eight runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings in his last start. He had surrendered just six runs in 20 frames in his previous three starts, which included an 8-4 wins against Pittsburgh. Leake has had two quality starts versus the Bucs this season.
At bat: Matt Carpenter is .375 against Gerritt Cole in his career. The infielder has had 12 hits in 32 plate appearances versus the righty, four of which were homers.
Miscellanea: This will be the first of a 10-game road trip for the Cards that includes visits to the Mets and the Cubs. St. Louis is coming off a 10-game homestand prior to the All-Star break and will strive to keep up the momentum with which they went into the midseason break; they won or tied their past four series and their health is improving. “This could be one of the greatest seasons of any of those guys careers because of how much we’ve been written off,” manager Mike Matheny said. “That to me is such an exciting thought about us putting something together and pushing hard and remembering all the things we’ve already gone through in half a season.”
Trends for fans who bet on baseball: The Cards have won two thirds of their last 12 games but have covered in only one third of their last six. Similarly, they have defeated the Pirates in seven of their last nine meetings but only covered in one of the last six. The MLB betting total has gone under in seven of St. Louis’ last 10 games against the Bucs.
Pittsburgh Pirates (42-47)
On the mound: Gerritt Cole (RHP, 7-7, 4.43 ERA, 94 K) gave up seven earned runs in two consecutive starts in early June but rebounded in the lead-up to the All Star break, surrendering two runs or fewer in four of his five last outings – including a 7-3 win against the Cards in St. Louis where he gave up only five hits and one run in six innings. Additionally, he tossed a 2-1 loss to the Cards on April 19th, allowing six hits and two runs in six frames. Cole is coming off a 5-2 win against the Phillies in his last start but allowed the Giants seven runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 13-5 loss in the start before that.
Trends for fans who bet on baseball: The Bucs won the two most recent series against the Cardinals, both at Busch Stadium. The Pirates won two of three on June 23rd-25th and swept the Cards 3-0 on April 17th-19th. The MLB betting total has gone over in four of Pittsburgh’s last visits to St. Louis.