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St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates odds, predictions, picks and best bets

Esten McLaren  |  Sportsbook Wire

The Pittsburgh Pirates (46-53) look to even up their series against the NL Central-rival St. Louis Cardinals (52-47) at PNC Park in Tuesday's Game 2 of a three-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Eastern.

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook; for a full-set of today's sports betting odds, access them at Paste BN Sports.

St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates: Projected Starting Pitchers

RHP Dakota Hudson vs. RHP Chris Archer

Hudson recorded his team-leading ninth win of the season his last time out. The 24-year-old enters Tuesday with a 3.57 ERA but a 4.50 xFIP. He's walking 4.09 batters per nine innings with 6.62 strikeouts. He's inducing a stellar 59.1 percent ground-ball rate, but 23.1 percent of fly balls are leaving the park. Opponents are slashing .279/.362/.456 against him when on the road. Last outing: Hudson gave up six hits and two walks but just three earned runs over a five-inning victory against the Cincinnati Reds.

Archer has pitched consecutive quality starts since the All-Star break, but he's still looking for his first win since June 6. He's striking out 10.52 batters per nine but against 4.47 walks and a staggering 2.18 home runs as 22.2 percent of fly balls leave the park. He has 18 strikeouts over 12 innings since the break. Last outing: Archer struck out eight and allowed three earned runs over six innings in a no-decision against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates: By the Numbers

  • The Pirates are freefalling in what was once an incredibly tight divisional race. They're just 2-8 over their last 10 games and suddenly 7.5 games back of the division lead. St. Louis has gone 8-2 and rocketed into second, 1.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs.
  • St. Louis is up 6-4 in the head-to-head series, having won two straight by single runs. Pittsburgh covered the spread in six of the last seven outings.
  • The season series is 6-4 against the over/under. Both teams are 4-6 against the O/U over their respective last 10 games.
  • The Pirates have the upper hand in the all-righty match up on the mound. Pittsburgh's .783 team OPS against RHPs ranks ninth in baseball, while the Cardinals' .715 team rate ranks 24th.

St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates: Key Injuries

Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter is expected back from the injured list when first eligible Friday.

St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates: Picks and Betting Tips

</div> <p> <strong>Moneyline:</strong> Back the home <strong>Pirates (-130)</strong> with the significantly better team splits against righties and Archer rounding into form in the second half.</p> <p> <strong>Run line:</strong> Even the <strong>+154</strong> for Pittsburgh to cover <strong>-1.5</strong> is a good play in the second game of the series.</p> <p> <strong>Over/under:</strong> Lean slightly to the <strong>UNDER (9, -104)</strong> with with both teams favoring the under of late.</p> <p> <strong>Esten's July record:</strong> 35-51-3</p> <p> <em>Follow Esten on Twitter <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/EstenMcLaren">@EstenMcLaren</a> </em> </p> <p><strong>MORE:</strong></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/burmese-python-discovered-in-surprising-place/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Burmese python discovered in surprising place</a></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/ufc-fighter-makes-opponent-flinch-by-screaming-in-his-face-during-staredown/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">UFC fighter makes opponent flinch by screaming in his face during staredown</a></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/draymond-green-tried-to-bluff-a-poker-pro-and-lost-everything/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Draymond Green tried to bluff a poker pro and lost everything</a></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/an-11-player-wall-couldnt-stop-this-indirect-free-kick-game-winner/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">An 11-player wall couldn't stop this indirect free kick game-winner</a></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/jaguars-gardner-minshew-meets-uncle-rico/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Gardner Minshew finally got to meet 'Uncle Rico' and NFL fans loved it</a></p></body></html>

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