The St. Louis Cardinals (92-66) host the Pittsburgh Pirates (59-99) at Busch Stadium on Sunday with the home team looking to sweep the three-game series. The Cardinals lead the series 2-0 after winning 13-3 on Saturday, their fourth straight head-to-head victory and 12th in 15 games this season. Jordan Montgomery got the win, giving up two runs on four hits over six innings. Corey Dickerson went 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs in the win. Cal Mitchell was 2 for 3 with two doubles and one run for the Pirates.
ON THE MOUND
Roansy Contreras (5-5, 3.72 ERA) is set to start for Pittsburgh. The right-hander allowed two runs over four innings in his last start, an 8-3 road win over the Reds on Monday. He yielded two hits while striking out two in the no-decision. Over two previous starts against the Cardinals this season, Contreras has allowed six earned runs over 11.1 innings (1-0, 4.76). He has struck out three and walked seven. RHP Adam Wainwright (11-11, 3.51 ERA) gets the ball for St. Louis. He has made two appearances against the Pirates this season, both starts, giving up one run over 13 innings (2-0, 0.69) with nine strikeouts and three walks. In his last start on September 25, Wainwright took the loss on the road against the Dodgers. He threw three innings and gave up four runs on six hits, striking out one and walking three in the 4-1 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 right-handed pitchers like Wainwright this season, the Bucs have a .654 OPS, third lowest in the league. Bryan Reynolds is the team’s strongest hitter against right-handers with a .813 OPS in 378 at-bats. St. Louis is averaging only 4.6 runs per game in the last five, down slightly from 4.8 for the season. The Cards have a .728 OPS against right-handers in 2022. With a .897 OPS over 444 at-bats, Paul Goldschmidt has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Pittsburgh is on an eight-game losing streak on the road, bringing their record to 27-53 in 2022. The Bucs have scored 3.4 runs per game away from home, while allowing 5.0 runs. St. Louis has gone 53-27 in front of their home fans this season, averaging 4.8 runs per game while surrendering 3.5. St. Louis is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings at Busch Stadium with an average scoreline of 6.0-2.8.
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 (-225)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
