Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview

The Pittsburgh Pirates are in St. Louis this weekend for a four-game series against the Cardinals. St. Louis had won nine straight games against Pittsburgh, but that streak was snapped after the Pirates picked up an 8-2 win in the series opener.

This has been another brutal season for the Pirates, and they will likely begin to trade away some of their best veterans over the next month. Pittsburgh is just 27-46 on the season, and they are in the last place in the National League Central.

St. Louis is a team heading in the wrong direction, and they have currently lost four straight games. The Cardinals are in danger of falling out of the division race, and they have slipped to three games below .500. 

The St. Louis Cardinals are -176 over the Pittsburgh Pirates in game two of the series on Friday night. 

Pittsburgh Playing Role of Spoiler

The Pirates are not going to be a playoff team this season, but they can still play the role of spoiler for the remainder of the season. Pittsburgh looked extremely sharp on Thursday night, and beating the Cardinals will give this team some enjoyment.

Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with 13 home runs and 42 RBIs, and Adam Frazier is hitting an impressive .320 on the year. Pittsburgh is still one of the worst offensive teams in the league, but they do have some tough outs in the middle of that lineup. 

Wil Crowe starts for the Pirates on Friday night, and he is still looking to get things figured out. Crowe is 0-4 with a 6.42 ERA, and he will be facing a lineup that is desperate to break out of this slump. 

Louis Struggling to Score

The Cardinals have scored just six total runs in their last four games, and the offense has been a problem throughout the season. Bringing in Nolan Arenado was supposed to solve the offense, but the Cardinals are near the bottom of the league in several offensive categories. 

Arenado does lead the team with 48 RBIs, but other veterans on this team have really started to slump. Tyler O’Neill has blasted 15 home runs to power the Cardinals offense, but St. Louis needs to find a way to create more traffic.

The starting rotation has been decimated by injuries, but St. Louis will be looking for a good start from one of their regular starters. Kwang Hyun Kim is just 1-5 with a 3.60 ERA, but he has produced some solid outings this season. 

Cardinals Snap Small Skid

Even though St. Louis is not playing well at this time, they are still a much better team than the Pirates. The Cardinals are going to get this season straightened out at some point, and Friday night would be a great time to start.

Look for the Cardinals' offense to finally start to break out in this game as they are not facing a dominant picture. The Pirates will find a way to keep this game close, but it will be St. Louis that is able to take control of the plate. 

Bet the St. Louis Cardinals -176 over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central showdown on Friday night. 

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