Offshore oddsmakers seem a bit torn – at least early – on the line for Tuesday’s Cardinals vs Pirates series opener at PNC Park. Depending on which book you go to, either St. Louis or Pittsburgh is the listed favorite early. The Redbirds having the upper hand for this meeting would make more sense but the Bucs are also sending their budding ace to the mound. This feels like one of those true toss up games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The trends would say that St. Louis is due for a loss, as they’ve alternated W’s and L’s for the past seven games and are coming off a 2-0 victory over Cincinnati on Sunday. The Pirates salvaged their series in Atlanta with a 4-2 win in the series finale<\/a>, but their offense scored just six total runs in the visit to Truist Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pirates are three games back from the Cardinals for second place in the NL Central, and they hope they can start to close that gap starting on Tuesday with Mitch Keller<\/strong> (9-4, 3.20 ERA) on the mound. Keller went 4-0 in May with a 1.30 ERA and followed that up with a 3-1 record in June with a 2.35 ERA. Keller’s only loss of the last two months did come against these Cardinals though, allowing 4 ER over 6.0 IP at Busch Stadium on June 13. <\/p>\n\n\n\n