The biggest story in Major League Baseball right now is Pittsburgh Pirates rookie righty Paul Skenes, and he makes his first start on the mound of the second half on Tuesday night against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
The Bucs are favored on the MLB odds according to MyBookie Sportsbook.
| MLB Picks: Pirates -175, Cardinals +160 (total 8) Score Prediction: Pirates 4, Cardinals 2 |
St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline +144
Team Preview
The Cardinals will complete their road schedule in Pittsburgh over 22 days in July, as St. Louis played a three game series on July 2-4 and finishes this series on Wednesday.
The Bucs will travel to St. Louis during the Cardinal’s final home stand of the season (Sept. 16-19) for a four-game series.
The Cardinals have won their last three road series since their most recent trip to Pittsburgh (July 2-4).
Last Game
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol made a drastic move Sunday in batting former NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt all the way down to seventh in the lineup.
The 36-year-old has been one of the most productive hitters in baseball over his career but is having a really down season.
Maybe it worked, as Goldy homered on Sunday from the No. 7 hole and was back there Monday.
Marmol has shuffled the deck a few times this season, including batting Nolan Arenado as low as No. 6 in the order.
Alec Burleson
Outfielder Burleson’s team-leading 58 RBI rank tied for 12th in the National League, but since June 1, “Biscuit” leads the NL with 41 RBI and trails only Aaron Judge of the Yankees in the majors.
Burleson’s team-leading 13 home runs since the beginning of June are 2nd-most in the National League, behind Shohei Ohtani with 16.
The Cardinals currently lead all MLB teams with a .285 batting average in the month of July.
That batting average is the Cardinal’s best in the month since a .296 mark in July 2004.
Lance Lynn on the Mound
Veteran right-hander Lynn is scheduled on the hill Tuesday.
He last pitched on July 13 vs. the Cubs, getting the win in the first game of a doubleheader, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out six.
The Cardinals struck for nine runs in the bottom of the first inning, letting Lynn cruise to his sixth quality start of the season on 99 pitches (68 strikes).
Lynn is nearing 2,000 career strikeouts, a milestone achieved by only 5 other active pitchers.
Despite winning 3 of his last 4 starts, he struggled in a recent outing against the Nationals.
With a 4.39 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 92:37 K:BB ratio through 96.1 innings, Lynn is on the verge of a significant achievement.
In his 24th career start (26th appearance) against the Pirates, and 23rd start with the Cardinals, Lynn faces Pittsburgh for the 25th time, the most against any opponent.
Lynn holds a 7-8 record with a 5.34 ERA vs. the Bucs. His only non-Cardinals appearance against the Pirates was in 2018 with Minnesota, resulting in a loss at PNC Park, where he last pitched.
Lynn gave up five runs, including a grand slam by Colin Moran.
^MyBookie MLB Betting Lines to Win Today
Pittsburgh Pirates Moneyline -178
Team Preview
Pittsburgh has won 11 games in its last at-bat, the team’s most since winning 13 games in the final at-bat of 2022).
The Bucs have gone 37-3 (.925 winning percentage) when outhitting their opponents this season.
They rank fourth in all of MLB in stolen base percentage (82.5 percent) behind the Brewers (84.4 percent), Reds (82.6 percent) and Mets (82.6 percent).
The Pirates have gone 11-2 on the 13 occasions the team has stolen multiple bases in a game this year.
Pittsburgh have gone 16-2 since the beginning of June when scoring first in a game.
Wild Card Race
The Pirates are focused on the National League Wild Card race.
The upcoming series against St. Louis and Arizona will be crucial in the Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton era.
GM Cherington stated the team is keeping an open mind about potential trades before the deadline.
Most of the players the Pirates have been connected to — including Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Marlins and Taylor Ward of the Angels — are outfielders.
Bryan Reynolds has been one of the top hitters in the NL, but outside of him, Pittsburgh hasn’t gotten much production from its outfielders.
Paul Skenes on the Mound
It’s young ace righty Skenes on the hill, and he’s the -1000 favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award and +450 third-favorite for the Cy Young despite having just 11 starts under his belt.
Skenes (6-0) started for the National League in last week’s All-Star Game and threw a scoreless inning.
He was just the fifth rookie pitcher to start in the Midsummer Classic.
The last regular season start for Skenes (6-0) was July 11 in Milwaukee, and he allowed no hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch with 11 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings.
He tied his career high in strikeouts and logged his second hitless start.
Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in 1973 is the only other pitcher in major league history with two starts of at least six no-hit innings and 11 strikeouts in one season.
Paul finished the outing by retiring 16 consecutive batters and allowed a base runner in only the second inning.
The 22-year-old has generated a quality start in nine of his last 10 outings and has a 1.91 ERA and 89 strikeouts across 66.1 innings.
His six game winning streak is tied with Jared Koenig and Nick Sandlin for the longest active streak in MLB. Pittsburgh is 8-3 in its past 11 starts overall.
Skenes pitched in St. Louis on June 11, recording eight strikeouts over 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a no-decision. He allowed one extra-base hit and no walks, scattering five hits.
In the fifth inning, he gave up back-to-back singles with no outs, but struck out the next two batters and got a ground out to escape the jam.
^Betting Cardinals at Pirates MLB Odds
When: Tuesday, 6:40 PM ET
Where: PNC Park
Pitchers (away/home): Lance Lynn/Paul Skenes
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/game day audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
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