With the Reds running away with the NL Central the Pirates and Cardinals will have to chase the Wild Card to make the post-season. St. Louis and Atlanta are tied for the Wild Card lead while Pittsburgh is 2 games back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Venue\/ Stadium: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<\/strong> Matchup<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Preview<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Preview<\/strong><\/p>\n The Pirates have been struggling losing 7 of their last 10 games while the Cardinals are surging winning 7 of their last 10 games. MLB odds have the visiting Cardinals as the slight favorite with a total of 8.5 runs.<\/p>\n In yesterday’s game the Pirates offense came alive and they beat the Cardinals 9-0.<\/p>\n The Cardinals have an O\/U record of 61-63 with a run-line W\/L record of 60-69 and the Pirates have an O\/U record of 57-65 with a run-line W\/L record of 72-57.<\/p>\n While the Pirates won last night the Cardinals have won 5 of their last 7 games against them in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n On the season the Pirates are 39-26 at home and the Cardinals are 31-32 on the road.<\/p>\n Joe Kelly (4-5, 3.26 ERA) gets the starting nod for the Cardinals and in his last outing he gave up 1 earned run in 3 innings in a win over the Reds. Wandy Rodriguez (8-13, 4.01 ERA) goes for the Pirates and he gave up 3 earned runs in 6 innings in his last outing, which was a loss to the Brewers.\u00a0\u00a0 [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n Kelly has made 2 relief appearances in his last 2 stints of action and in 11 of his last 12 starts has allowed 3 or fewer runs.<\/p>\n Rodriguez is 1-4 with a 4.86 ERA in 6 games, 5 starts, since being acquired from the Houston Astros.<\/p>\n These 2 teams have split the 14 games they have faced each other this season.<\/p>\n The Pirates will need a good outing from Rodriguez since their offense only ranks 20th in the Majors in runs scored while the Cardinals rank 3rd\u00a0 and 2nd in team batting average.<\/p>\n In some betting trends for this NL Central match up the Cardinals are 6-2 in their last 8 games, 1-4 in Kelly’s last 5 starts as a favorite, and they have an Over record of 5-1 in their last 6 games.<\/p>\n The Pirates are 4-9 in their last 13 home games, 0-4 in Rodriguez’s last 4 starts, and they have an Over record of 11-4 in their last 15 home games.<\/p>\n
\nTime\/Date: 7 PM EST Wednesday, August 29, 2012<\/strong>
\nMLB Odds From: Bovada<\/a><\/strong>
\nMoneyline: Cardinals -120 \/ Pirates +100 <\/strong>
\nOver\/Under:\u00a0 8.5 runs<\/strong><\/p>\n