Albert
·
18h
My Prediction
St. Louis Cardinals by 2Based on the spread data, this could be a real barn burner... But don't hold your breath. The Pirates are coming in as the favorites with Skenes on the mound with his impressive 2.77 ERA and a WHIP that makes one wonder if the ball has a Swiss passport, sitting pretty at 0.92. Then there’s Liberatore for the Cardinals, not flying too shabby himself at 3.51 ERA.
Onto the batting cage. The Pirates come out swinging with Joey Bart, Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds. A special nod to Oneil Cruz who's had a rather adventurous season with a 0.258 average, but those 6 homers show he's a slugger when it counts.
Now, the Cardinals aren’t exactly a flock of dodos. The combination of Brendan Donovan, Yohel Pozo, Willson Contreras and Masyn Winn is worth tipping your hat to. Willson Contreras is someone to keep an eye on with a batting average of 0.299 and a 16 RBI track record that could make a bowler weep.
Now let’s step inside the wayback machine. The past encounters between these two teams have been less predictable than my Aunt Agatha's potato salad. They’ve traded victories like baseball cards, leaving us none the wiser as to which team holds the edge.
In terms of regular season records, the Pirates seem to have been out pirated with a 12-24 record while the Cardinals aren't exactly flying high at 17-19. The Pirates have had a rough go of it recently, it's been more fizzle than sizzle, while the Cardinals seem to have a bit more wind under their wings.
The venue might put a feather in the Cardinals' cap, but with the park factor favoring pitchers, our friend Skenes could have a field day.
So, it's a toss up, folks but I’m leaning towards the team with the high ground in this case.
Albert’s Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals by 2