MLB - 901 St Louis Cardinals @ 902 Pittsburgh Pirates
(Starting Pitchers: K. Lohse vs A. Burnett)
The Cardinals are coming from winning a big series in Cincinnati and they have now the chance to get away from Pittsburgh in the wildcard race, so this will be another key series for the reigning champions. They will start Lohse today and he has been so impressive lately that he hasn't allowed more than four hits in any of his four starts in August! He has now produced 14 quality starts on his last 15 games and he keeps being one of the most consistent pitchers in the league. He will face a Pirates offense who has been missing in action for some time now, especially due to McCutchen's current slump, as he is just hitting .234 BA in August. Pittsburgh are the 4th worst team in the league in BA over the last 14 days with .221 and in a game against a good SP like Lohse, I expect the Pirates to struggle on offense once again.
The Pirates will start their ace Burnett, but he is clearly struggling in August, just like the rest of the team. In fact, he has posted a 5.27 ERA, 4.74 FIP and 3.44 xFIP in a combined of his August starts, while allowing his opposing batters to hit .277 BA. He has lost some of his effectiveness with his fastball and that has been making him struggle lately. With the Cardinals offense looking in fine form right now and with their roster hitting .322 BA and .779 OPS in 115 AB's against Burnett, I believe he will be in trouble tonight.
With St Louis having edges for this contest in terms of hitting, momentum and even in pitching, I believe the Cardinals will have a comfortable win tonight and so, I'll take them in here.
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 901 St Louis Cardinals ML (w/ K. Lohse) @ -114 / 1.88 on 5Dimes
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