On Wednesday night, the St. Louis Cardinals face the Pittsburgh Pirates in the finale of their season-opening series. The Cardinals (0-1) lost on Opening Day, 4-1, to the Pirates (1-0). The two teams square off on Tuesday night in the second game of the series. Don’t forget to be on the lookout for more odds and lines for MLB by clicking here.
An Indepth Anlaysis of the MLB Betting Odds on St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates
When: Wednesday, April 6, 2016, 7:05pm ET
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
TV: FSMW
Radio: St. Louis / PittsburghLive Stream: MLB.tvMLB Odds: Pirates -119, Cardinals +109 (7.5)
Pitching Matchup: Mike Leake (0-0) (STL) vs Juan Nicasio (0-0) (PIT)
Why Should You Bet on the Cardinals?
The Cards send Mike Leake to the mound to start the third game. He was impressive in four shutout innings against the New York Yankees in the final tuneup of the spring, needing only 39 pitches to mow down 12 Yankee hitters. He only threw six pitches outside the strike zone. In his five spring training starts, he had a 2.25 ERA and whiffed 24 batters in 20 innings. If he can start working his way through the Pirates’ talented lineup, the Cards could get a win. Their offense will need to have some more pop in it to escape the Steel City with a W.
Why Should You Put Your Money on Pittsburgh?
The Pirates will be starting Juan Nicasio on the mound. Nicasio is an intriguing piece for the Pirates, as he has a career ERA that is unsightly (4.88) but a fastball (95mph) that is eye-popping. In a spring training game against the Orioles this year, Nicasio fanned 10 batters while facing only 14. In those four innings, he only permitted one hit — and no runs. If he can show that stuff against the Cardinals, then the Bucs should roll.
Expert Betting Pick and Final Score Prediction
I like Leake to have the better outing as opposed to Nicasio, and I think that the Cardinal bats will have woken up a little more from Opening Day. I’m picking a 4-3 Cards win.
