The St. Louis Cardinals (92-67) take one of the top offenses in MLB on the road to face the Pittsburgh Pirates (60-99) at PNC Park on Monday for the first of a three-game series.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Cardinals have won 12 of 16 in the season series between the NL Central rivals, although they dropped a close one 7-5 in their last meeting on Sunday at Busch Stadium. Reliever Chase De Jong threw 1.2 innings to get the win, and David Bednar picked up his 19th save with a scoreless ninth.
ON THE MOUND
Jose Quintana (6-7, 2.99 ERA) is set for the start for St. Louis. The left-hander allowed one run over five innings in his last start, a 5-1 home defeat against the Brewers on Wednesday. He took the loss, giving up four hits while striking out seven and walking two. Quintana has made one previous start against the Pirates this season, a 4-3 road victory on September 11. He surrendered one run on four hits over 5.2 innings, striking out four and walking one. Right-hander Mitch Keller (5-12, 3.99 ERA) will toe the rubber for Pittsburgh. He has made three appearances against the Cardinals this season, all starts, giving up six runs over 16.1 innings (0-1, 3.31) with 12 strikeouts and six walks. In his last start on Tuesday, Keller took a no-decision at home against the Reds. He threw five innings and gave up one run on five hits, striking out five and walking three in the 4-1 win.
AT THE PLATE
The St. Louis offense is averaging 4.8 runs per game for the season, fifth best in the league, with a slash line of .252/.325/.421. Paul Goldschmidt leads the team in OPS at .985. The first baseman is slashing .318/.404/.581 with 35 home runs, 114 RBIs, and 105 runs over 149 games. Against righties like Keller this season, the Cards have a .728 OPS. Goldschmidt also is the team’s best hitter against right-handers with a .897 OPS in 444 at-bats. Pittsburgh is slashing .221/.289/.362 for the season and averaging 3.6 runs per game, fourth lowest in MLB. Bryan Reynolds leads the team with a .796 OPS. The center fielder has 27 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 73 runs scored with a slash line of .259/.342/.454. The Bucs have a .647 OPS against southpaws in 2022, fourth lowest in the league. With a .795 OPS over 137 at-bats, Diego Castillo has been their best hitter against left-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
St. Louis is 39-39 away from Busch Stadium in 2022, scoring 4.7 runs per game while allowing 4.3 runs. Pittsburgh has won three in a row at PNC Park. The Bucs are 32-46 at home this season, averaging 3.8 runs per game while surrendering 5.1. St. Louis is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings at PNC Park with an average scoreline of 6.8-4.5.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Cardinals lead the NL Central by eight games over the Brewers. The Pirates are fifth in the NL Central, 33 games behind the Cardinals.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
St.Louis Cardinals (-175)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
