The top two teams in the National League Central will battle it out this Tuesday night, as the Pittsburgh Pirates (65-44) pay the St. Louis Cardinals (71-40) a visit for Game 1 of a critical three-game series at Busch Stadium. Which team will emerge victorious? Will the Pirates stretch their winning streak to five? Or will the major league-leading Cards cool them off?
Read on further for a full breakdown of this tasty NL Central showdown. And while you’re at it, check out also our in-depth breakdown between the Brewers and Cubs.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals Preview
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
When: Tuesday, August 11, 8:15 PM ET
Line: Pittsburgh Pirates (+140) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (-155); total: 7.5—View all MLB Lines
Betting on the Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off an impressive three-game sweep of the Dodgers, improving their current record to 65-44. They hold the first wild card spot in the National League with a 3.5-game cushion over the surging Cubs. The Pirates will be looking to widen that advantage further, when they fly to Busch Stadium for their series opener with the MLB’s no. 1 team and their division rivals St. Louis Cardinals.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Going on the mound for the Pirates this evening is Jeff Locke, who is 6-6 with a 4.31 ERA thus far this season. He hasn’t been pitching well of late, yielding 11 earned runs (three homers) on 13 hits over 15 2/3 innings in his last three turns. But during this stretch, the Pirates still managed to emerge victorious thanks to the solid productions on offense. Across seven career starts against the Cardinals, Locke owns a 2-3 record and a decent 3.55 ERA.
Locke is bound to have a tough time against a Cardinals’ team that boasts an impressive 40-16 home record, which is the best in majors right now. Given that, expect the Pirates to rely on their star outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who leads the team in batting average (.301), home runs (17), RBIs (74) and hits (116) this year. He enters tonight’s game in the midst of a five-game hitting streak, during which he’s gone 9-for-16 (.562).
Also, third baseman Aramis Ramirez could prove to be a key factor for the Pirates to grab the win in Game 1. Ramirez has been quite successful throughout his 18-year career when facing the Cardinals, holding a .308 batting average.
Pittsburgh has won seven of its last 10 games with Locke starting.
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Betting on the St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are coming off a tough 4-5 loss in the hands of the struggling Milwaukee Brewers. Despite this, the Cardinals have won four of their last five games and still reigns supreme on top of the NL Central standings. However, the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates still have a good chance in overtaking the Cardinals, who only hold a small 5.0-game advantage. The Cardinals will try to prevent that from happening by taking care of business tonight against the Bucs.
Carlos Martinez (11-4, 2.57 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Cardinals. Martinez hasn’t been himself in his previous two turns though, allowing eight runs (six earned) on 16 hits in 10 frames. But things might turnout in his favor later, as the 23-year-old Dominican boasts a 5-2 record with a 2.80 ERA at Busch Stadium this year. St. Louis is 7-1 in Martinez’s last eight starts.
Like in his past two contests, Martinez will hope to receive enough support on offense to pick up the win. It’s likely that the duo of Jhonny Peralta and Jason Heyward will be leading the charge at the plate. Peralta has gone hitless in 12 at-bats over his last three games; however, he is a .303 lifetime hitter opposite the Bucs. Heyward, on the other hand, is 4-for-12 (.333) in the same stretch and is 5-for-16 (.312) in his career off Locke.
The Cards are 6-1 in their last seven games following a loss.
Writer’s Prediction:
The Pirates (+140) win, 7-6.
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