St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: Odds, Preview, & Prediction | Wednesday, June 15th
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Preview: Two solid pitchers on the mound in tonight's game
The St. Louis Cardinals will try to complete their series sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight. The Pirates have found themselves in the midst of a nine-game losing streak. This season, the Cardinals have a 8-1 record against the Pirates. The pitching matchup in this game is very good, so there are a few angles that have some great value. Let's get into the preview!
Below, you will find a brief preview of each team followed by a prediction for the game.
St. Louis Cardinals Preview:
Swept the doubleheader! https://t.co/llnhtQ82tL
"Swept the doubleheader!" - St. Louis Cardinals
Led by Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, the Cardinals offense has been clicking as of late. They rank sixth in the MLB with a .253 team batting average and sixth in the league in runs per game as well. The St. Louis offense has been one of the most effective in the league this far, and will look to continue their production tonight.
Jack Flaherty will make his first start of the season tonight. He has been one of the most effective pitchers on the St. Louis Cardinals staff for the last few years.
In two rehab starts with the Triple-A team, Flaherty was very good, only giving up one hit in seven innings over two starts. Tonight, Flaherty will face the Pirates offense that ranks in the bottom 10 in the MLB in many important categories. The key to victory for the St. Louis Cardinals is to produce early runs and get into the Pirates bullpen as soon as possible.
Pittsburgh Pirates Preview:
Final. https://t.co/uyll8ItCBw
"Final." - Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates have performed extremely poorly over the last few weeks. Both the offense and pitching staff have been terrible. However, they will send one of their best pitchers to the mound tonight in Roansy Contreras. Contreras has a 2.57 ERA through four starts this season and seems to be getting better as he gets more innings. Despite a hiccup in his last start against the red-hot Braves, he has performed well against some very good offenses this far.
Offensively, the Pirates are led by Bryan Reynolds and Ke'Bryan Hayes. Although the statistics aren't great, the Pirates offense relies on these two to get on base and give their teammates opportunities to drive them in. The key to victory for the Pirates is to get a quality start from Contreras. Pittsburgh most likely won't be able to outscore the Cardinals, so they need to keep the scoring low.
Pick/Prediction: NRFI (No Run First Inning) (-115)
This is great value for a NRFI considering the pitching matchup. Both Flaherty and Contreras are more than capable of retiring the side in order. We aren't asking for that though; we just need six outs without a run being scored. The value seems too good to pass up!