Rain Likely. 58* with very light winds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nSt Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Analysis<\/h2>\nToday is the fourth game in the opening series between the Cardinals and the Pirates. St. Louis took home the first two games of the series and dropped last night\u2019s game against Pittsburgh. The Pirates have been underdogs in each game this series and have struggled to compete with St. Louis.<\/p>\n Hudson on a Pitch Count<\/h3>\nOver the first two games of the series, St. Louis held the Pirates to just two total runs. St. Louis scored 15 in these first two games. Yesterday afternoon, the Cardinals were unable to manufacture runs and only scored four to the Pirates nine.<\/p>\n St. Louis will start relief pitcher Dakota Hudson in the final game of this series. Hudson only pitched 8.2 innings last season after he hurt his arm and required Tommy John surgery. Hudson is making his first appearance this season since the surgery and is not expected to go more than three innings.<\/p>\n Pirates Find Some Power<\/h3>\nAfter struggling to produce any offense in the first two games of the series, Pittsburgh\u2019s lineup finally woke up with a nine-run day against St. Louis. 3B Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes and 2B Micheal Chavis have been the catalysts for the Pirates lineup.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh will send righty reliever Zach Thompson to the hill on Monday to try to even up the series. This is Thompson\u2019s second year in the majors and he had himself a very solid rookie season in 2021. Thompson excelled in minimizing his opponents\u2019 exit velocity, hard-hit balls, batting average, and slugging percentage.<\/p>\n St Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction<\/h3>\nNo game in this series has been close and the Cardinals have asserted themselves as the much better team in this matchup so far. However, I think Hudson will struggle in his first start of the season and I expect Thompson to build upon his strong 2021 campaign.<\/p>\n Nolan Arenado has been great for St. Louis so far, but the rest of the offense is not producing at a very high rate. The Cardinals are only batting .263 for the series and actually have fewer hits than the Pirates.<\/p>\n The Cardinals have relied on the longball to win them games, and Thompson only allowed six home runs in 72 innings last season. I like the Pirates to cover the run line of +1.5 (-125) and potentially pull off the upset<\/strong> in the final game of the series.<\/p>\n![\"Caesars](\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/caesars_logo_wide_@2x.png\") <\/a><\/p>\nInterested in placing a bet on Monday’s St Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates clash? Caesars Sports is offering up to a $1,500 match bet<\/a> for first-time deposits in New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, New York and Louisiana.<\/em><\/p>\n
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