The St. Louis Cardinals (92-68) are on the road to face the Pittsburgh Pirates (61-99) at PNC Park on Tuesday. The Pirates took Monday’s series opener 3-2, their fifth head-to-head victory in 17 games this season. Reliever Yohan Ramirez was credited with the win after throwing one scoreless inning. Jack Suwinski went 1 for 2 with a solo home run in the win. Albert Pujols was 1 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs for the Cardinals.
ON THE MOUND
Dakota Hudson (8-7, 4.07 ERA) is slated for the start for St. Louis. The RHP threw three scoreless innings in relief in his last appearance, a 6-2 road defeat against the Dodgers on September 24. He gave up two hits and walked one. For Pittsburgh, RHP JT Brubaker (3-12, 4.58 ERA) gets the start. He has made three appearances against the Cardinals this season, all as the starter, giving up 10 runs (9 ER) over 14.1 innings (0-2, 5.65) with 10 strikeouts and seven walks. In his last start on September 15, Brubaker took the loss on the road against the Mets. He threw three innings and gave up five runs on seven hits, striking out five and walking two in the 7-1 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, St. Louis has averaged 4.6 runs a game, a small drop compared to their season average of 4.8. Against right-handed pitchers like Brubaker this season, the Cards have a .730 OPS. Brendan Donovan is the team’s biggest on-base threat against right-handers with a .389 OBP in 446 at-bats. Pittsburgh is averaging only 3.6 runs per game in the last five, consistent with their season average. The Bucs have a .657 OPS against right-handers in 2022, third lowest in MLB. With a .811 OPS over 385 at-bats, Bryan Reynolds has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
St. Louis is 39-40 away from home in 2022, scoring 4.7 runs per game while allowing 4.3 runs. Pittsburgh has won four in a row at their home ballpark. The Bucs are 33-46 at home this season, averaging 3.8 runs per game while surrendering 5.1. St. Louis is 7-3 in the last 10 games at PNC Park between the NL Central rivals with an average scoreline of 6.3-3.7.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Cardinals lead the NL Central by seven games over the Brewers. The Pirates are fourth in the NL Central, 31 games behind the Cardinals.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
St.Louis Cardinals
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our MLB hub page for all your baseball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
