Two teams that are starting to show signs of life clash when the Pittsburgh Pirates take on the St. Louis Cardinals in the finale of an exciting three-game set Wednesday afternoon inside PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA. Both teams have made a habit of starting to pick things up late in the season.
The Pirates have a habit of making mid-season runs here and there, and it appears this season is no different. They have fought hard to get within striking distance of the .500 mark, and their hitting is starting to come around, too.
On offense, they are led by left-fielder Bryan Reynolds, who has slugged 18 home runs on the season and is hitting a very solid .288. He has found a way to help jump-start this dormant offense, but the Pirates are still hitting .233 on the season. They need to get that average up, and they need the heart of their lineup to also start waking up as a whole.
They are an excellent base-stealing team and have swiped 55 bases this season. They will send Martin Perez, who sports a mark of just 1-5, with an ERA of 5.61. He has not won on the hill since early April, and the Pirates would love this solid start.
The Cardinals were a bit of a surprise this season because many pundits did not think they would be a good team or even compete. But they have surprised some, and it will be interesting to see what they do at the MLB trade deadline. Are they going to be buyers or sellers by the deadline?
On offense, they are led by several key contributors, including right fielder Alex Burleson, who has scored 18 home runs this season and has a career-high 59 RBI. He is having a very good season and is one of the breakout stars for a team that does not have many.
St. Louis will have to get more out of their starters in the future if they have a shot at one of the NL Wild Cards because they do not seem to have the horses to overtake the Milwaukee Brewers, who lead the NL Central by five games as teams entered play on Tuesday night.
If their starters can pitch some solid innings, take pressure off their offense, and win some close games, the Cardinals could make things very interesting in that division.
The Pirates are 4-1 in their last five games and 3-2 in their previous five games against the spread. They are also 29-21 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in two out of their last five games, and the totals have gone over in 22 out of their last 50 games at home. The Cardinals are 2-3 in their previous five games and 4-1 in their last five games against the spread too. The totals have gone over in two out of their previous five games and 24 out of their last 48 games at home.
