<p>
After taking the first two games of this four-game NL Central series St. Louis goes looking for more Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals won by one run in extra innings Monday night, then by one run again Tuesday night. Who do we like for our free MLB pick for Wednesday?
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<h2>
MLB Betting Odds<br />
</h2>
<p>
Wednesday's MLB betting odds opened Pittsburgh at around -110 over St. Louis, with an over/under of 9.5 runs. Both those figures were holding steady in the early betting action.
</p>
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<h2>
Cardinals vs. Pirates Set-Up<br />
</h2>
<p>
St. Louis grabbed the opener of this series Monday night 6-5 in 10 innings, then won Tuesday's game 4-3. The Cardinals cashed in as -110 favorites Monday, then won Tuesday as +120 underdogs.
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<p>
With Tuesday's victory St. Louis owns a three-game winning streak, part of a current 6-1 run.
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<p>
With Tuesday's loss, Pittsburgh is 2-9 over its last 11 games.
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<p>
At 53-47 overall St. Louis now trails the first-place Cubs by just a half-game in the NL Central, and it owns the No. 2 spot in the National League wild-card standings.
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<p>
At 46-54 overall the Pirates now sit 7.5 games out in the NL Central race, and they're seven games back of the Cardinals in the battle for that second NL wild-card spot.
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<p>
St. Louis leads the season series with Pittsburgh seven games to four.
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<h2>
Wednesday's Starting Arms<br />
</h2>
<p>
Lyles, by our stringent accounting, is only 5/16 on quality starts this season and 0 for his last eight. Last Friday he came within one out of a QS, holding Philadelphia to one run and seven hits through 5 2/3 innings, although the Pirates lost that game 6-1. But over his seven starts previous to that he gave up 33 runs and 42 hits, including eight homers, through 29 1/3 innings.
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<p>
Pittsburgh is 8-8 with Lyles this season, but 0-7 over his last seven starts.
</p>
<p>
Over his last three starts against the Cardinals, two last year while with San Diego and one earlier this season, Lyles allowed seven runs – six earned – and 17 hits through 17 innings. The Pirates won his start at Busch Stadium back on May 2-1.
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<p>
Wainwright is 8/18 on quality starts this year and two for his last four. Last Friday he got bombed by Cincinnati for seven runs in less than four innings of work, although St. Louis won that game 12-11. And over his three starts previous to that he only allowed four runs and 15 hits through 18 2/3 innings.
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<p>
The Cardinals are 9-9 with Wainwright this year, 3-0 over his last three starts.
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<p>
In two starts against the Pirates, this season Wainwright allowed five runs and nine hits through 11 innings. St. Louis split those two games.
</p>
<h2>
Wednesday's Batting Splits<br />
</h2>
<p>
St. Louis is batting .244/.317/.398 against right-handed pitching this season.
</p>
<p>
Pittsburgh is batting .275/.338/.444 against RH pitching this season.
</p>
<h2>
The Bullpens<br />
</h2>
<p>
The Cardinals bullpen owns a 3.88 ERA this season and an ML-low 1.16 WHIP while allowing an ML-low .665 OPS. Numbers like those help this unit rank among the top three bullpens in Baseball.
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<p>
The Pirates pen owns a 4.87 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP while allowing a .780 OPS.
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<h2>
Totals Report<br />
</h2>
<ul>
<li>
Unders are 52-43 in Cardinals games this season.
</li>
<li>
Overs are 57-40 in Pirates games this season.
</li>
<li>
Overs are a lopsided 30-16 in games played at PNC Park this season.
</li>
<li>
Unders are a combined 20-13 with Lyles and Wainwright this season.
</li>
<li>
Overs are 6-5 in Cardinals-Pirates games this season.
</li>
</ul>
<p><section></p>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1080888">St. Louis at Pittsburgh MLB Match-up Stats</a> </span>
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</ul>
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