The Pittsburgh Pirates (-125) are on the road to face the St. Louis Cardinals (+105) at Busch Stadium on Saturday. The early total has been set at 7.5 (O: -110 | U: -110). The Cardinals (91-66) took Friday’s series opener 2-1, their 11th head-to-head victory in 14 games this season. Starter Jack Flaherty went six innings to get the win, giving up one run on four hits and striking out six, and Ryan Helsley picked up his 19th save with a scoreless ninth. Albert Pujols went 1 for 3 with a solo home run in the win. Ji Hwan Bae was 2 for 4 with a double and one RBI for the Pirates (59-98).
ON THE MOUND
Luis Ortiz (0-1, 1.17 ERA) is in line to get the start for Pittsburgh. The lefty allowed one run over 4.2 innings in his last start, an 8-3 road defeat against the Cubs on Sunday. He took the loss, yielding one hit while striking out seven and walking two. For St. Louis, lefty Jordan Montgomery (8-6, 3.50 ERA) gets the ball. It’s his first appearance of the season against the Pirates. In his last start on September 24, Montgomery took the loss on the road against the Dodgers. He threw four innings and gave up six runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking one in the 6-2 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, Pittsburgh has averaged 4.0 runs a game, a small gain compared to their season average of 3.6. Against southpaws like Montgomery this season, the Bucs have a .650 OPS, fifth lowest in the league. Ke’Bryan Hayes is the team’s most productive hitter against left-handers with a .798 OPS in 144 at-bats. St. Louis is averaging only 2.4 runs per game in the last five, down from 4.7 for the season, with their slash line falling across the board (.226/.291/.348). The Cards have ann .811 OPS against left-handers in 2022, highest in the league. With a 1.327 OPS over 112 at-bats, Paul Goldschmidt has been their best hitter against left-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Pittsburgh is on a seven-game losing streak in road games, bringing their record to 27-52 in 2022. The Bucs have scored 3.4 runs per game away from home, while allowing 4.9 runs. St. Louis has gone 52-27 in front of their home fans this season, averaging 4.7 runs per game while surrendering 3.5. In the last 10 meetings at Busch Stadium, St. Louis is 7-3 with an average scoreline of 5.1-3.0.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Cardinals lead the NL Central by seven games over the Brewers. The Pirates are fifth in the NL Central, 32 games behind the Cardinals.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
St.Louis Cardinals (-250)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
