The St. Louis Cardinals have struggled recently when travelling to Pittsburgh, as the Cards have gone just 2-5 in their past seven games at PNC Park. However, St. Louis has outscored Pittsburgh 16-9 in their past three meetings in the Steel City.
Michael Wacha had a tough spring, but looks to continue his good play against the Pirates Tuesday. Wacha is 3-1 with a 3.19 ERA in seven career games against the Bucs, six of which were starts. However, his one start against the Pirates last season was rocky, with the righty allowing seven hits and three runs over 5.0 innings.
Jonathon Niese will make his first career start outside of a New York Mets uniform after the veteran was sent to the Pirates during the offseason. Niese has traditionally started hot, as the leftie has a 2.75 ERA while allowing just one hit per inning in April starts since the beginning of 2013.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
Sportsbooks such as Sportsbook had installed the Pittsburgh Pirates as -105 moneyline in this particular MLB betting odds matchup. The total, meanwhile, was set early at 7 before betting at Sportsbook started to move the line.
Prediction-scoring formulas run on this game pick a potential 3.9-2.8 result in favor of the Pirates. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming MLB matchups here.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Pittsburgh Pirates bring a 1-0 record to the battle against the 0-1 Cardinals. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Pittsburgh vs St. Louis injuries news.
According to MLB Power Rankings here, it's the No. 8-ranked Pittsburgh Pirates and the No. 10-rated St. Louis Cardinals in this matchup.
Statistical Matchup
The game also pits Pittsburgh Pirates No. 10-rated offense, averaging 4 runs per game, against a St. Louis Cardinals defense that ranks No. 14 at 4 in runs allowed per game. The Pittsburgh Pirates have averaged 9 hits per game so far, more than St. Louis Cardinals batters have averaged on the year (5 hits per game).
Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping betting factors and Pittsburgh has the No. 3-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Cardinals own the No. 14 mark in runs allowed.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The Cardinals hope to make more contact than they did in their start against F Liriano, who struck out 10 batters in 4-1 loss on Sunday at PNC Park.
Next Betting Matchups
St. Louis at Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 6th