Saturday, September 5, 2015

Busch Stadium

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Probable Pitchers: Charlie Morton (8-6) vs. Jaime Garcia (7-4)

The Pittsburgh Pirates take on the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday at Busch Stadium. The Pirates send Charlie Morton to the mound to face Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals. The opening line for this matchup has Pittsburgh at +135 and St. Louis at -145. The over/under was set at 7.5. The Pirates, with a 58-74 run line record, cover the spread 44% of the time. They also have a 59-61 over/under record. The Cardinals are 70-63 against the run line and have a 51-73 over/under record. They cover the spread 53% of the time.

The Pirates show up with a 79-53 record, including 33-32 on the road. Charlie Morton has a 8-6 record on the season, an earned run average of 4.22 and a 1.30 WHIP. He's pitched 106.2 innings thus far while surrendering 107 hits over that time and when he starts, the Pirates are 12-6. The Pirates are also 6-10 against the over/under in his starts. His teammates are averaging 4.3 runs a game when he pitches. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.61 and they have given up 364 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .232 against the bullpen while being struck out 364 times and walking 126 times this season. As a team, Pittsburgh has allowed 8.52 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.85 batters per nine. They are 2nd in the league in team earned run average at 3.22.

Pittsburgh ranks 8th in the league in team batting average at .259 while hitting .255 on the road. The Pirates hold a .396 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .321 which is good for 12th in baseball. They rank 8th in baseball with 8.98 hits per game and Andrew McCutchen leads the team with 140.

St. Louis is 48-20 at home while holding a 86-47 overall record on the season. Jaime Garcia has a record of 7-4 while sporting an earned run average of 2.03 on the year with a 0.97 WHIP. He's pitched 93 innings thus far while surrendering 70 hits over that time in which the Cardinals are 9-5. The Cardinals are also 4-9 against the over/under in his starts. His teammates score an average of 3.3 runs a game when he pitches. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.34 and they have given up 347 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .234 against the Cardinals bullpen while being struck out 358 times and walking 144 times this season. As a team, St. Louis has allowed 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8 batters per nine. They are 1st in the league in team earned run average at 2.67.

They rank 10th in the league in team batting average with a .256 average while hitting .264 at home. The Cardinals hold a .395 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .323 which is good for 10th in baseball. They rank 11th in baseball with 8.74 hits per game and Jhonny Peralta leads the team with 140.

Pittsburgh has a team fielding percentage of .982 after having committed 97 errors with 1,561 assists and 3,635 put outs for the season. For the home team, they hold a .985 team fielding percentage while committing 78 errors, accumulating 1,332 assists and compiling 3,635 put outs.

Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 59-61 against the over/under so far this season

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 58-74 against the run line so far this season

St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals are 51-73 against the over/under so far this season

The St. Louis Cardinals are 70-63 against the run line so far this season

Injuries to Watch

Pittsburgh Pirates

09/04/15 CF Andrew McCutchen Achilles probable Friday vs. St. Louis Cardinals
09/02/15 P Casey Sadler Forearm Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (9/1)
08/24/15 1B Travis Ishikawa Back Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (8/20)
08/08/15 P Deolis Guerra Knee Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (8/7)
08/01/15 P A.J. Burnett Elbow Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (7/31)
07/19/15 CF Gorkys Hernandez Shoulder Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (7/13)
06/24/15 RF Corey Hart Shoulder Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (6/22)
05/07/15 LF Andrew Lambo Plantar Fasciitis Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (5/4)
04/06/15 P Brandon Cumpton Elbow Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (3/27)

St. Louis Cardinals

09/03/15 P Carlos Martinez Back is upgraded to expected to start Friday vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
09/03/15 P Lance Lynn Ankle is downgraded to expected to miss start Friday vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
09/02/15 1B Mark Reynolds Wrist is not expected to be in the starting lineup Friday vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
08/18/15 LF Randal Grichuk Elbow Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (8/16)
07/30/15 LF Matt Holliday Quad Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (7/29)
07/03/15 CF Jon Jay Wrist Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (7/1)
07/01/15 P Matt Belisle Elbow Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (6/26)
05/27/15 1B Matt Adams Quad Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (05/26)
05/03/15 P Jordan Walden Bicep Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (4/30)
04/28/15 P Adam Wainwright Achilles Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (4/25); out for season

Guy's Pick: Take the Pirates

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