Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates: A NL Central battle

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates are closing out their series tonight at PNC Park.

The Cardinals have split the last ten games

The St. Louis Cardinals are second in the NL Central with a 53-48 record and 27-26 on the road. They have won three of the last four games including a 2-1 win last night against the Pirates. The Cardinals have a 3.98 ERA, a .247 batting average, a .308 on-base percentage, and 1.26 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Brendan Donovan leads the team with 101 hits, Paul Goldschmidt is on top with 48 runs and Nolan Gorman has 19 home runs.

The Pirates are in a solid form

The Pittsburgh Pirates are third in the NL Central with a 51-50 record including 25-26 at home. They won three of the five games following the All-Star break. The Pirates have a 3.82 ERA, a .243 batting average, a .312 on-base percentage, and 1.27 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Bryan Reynolds leads the team with 117 hits and 18 home runs while Andrew McCutchen is on top with 52 runs.

Betting Trends

The Pirates are 7-2 SU in their last 9 games overall and 8-4 SU in their last 12 home games against the Cardinals. Pittsburgh has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games overall, in 6 of their last 8 games against the Cardinals in 6 of their last 8 home hames and in 5 of their last 6 games against teams from the NL. The Cardinals are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games against the Pirates and 1-5 SU in their last 6 games played on Wednesday. St. Louis has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games overall, in 5 of their last 6 games on the road and in 4 of their last 6 games against teams from the NL.

Prediction and Conclusion

These two teams are only two wins apart in the NL Central and are targeting the leading Milwaukee Brewers. The first two games of the series were very tight, with both teams winning by 2-1 in one of them. The Cardinals will start Matthew Liberatore tonight, who is 2-2 for the season with a 4.15 ERA, 41 K, 52 IP, and 1.21 WHIP. The Pirates will try to bounce back with Martin Perez, who is 1-5 for the season with a 5.61 ERA, 61 K, 77 IP, and 1.66 WHIP. The total run line is set at 8.5, and given the fact that both teams scored a total of six runs in the previous two games, we go with the under again.