Pirates

Pirates Preview: Oviedo Back in St. Louis Facing Former Club

Published

2 years ago

September 30, 2022

Friday, Sept. 30, the Pittsburgh Pirates (59-97) go on the road to face the St. Louis Cardinals (90-66). The Pirates are fresh off of a three-game sweep against the Reds and look to continue their streak as the final stretch is upon us. First pitch at Busch Stadium is set for 8:15 p.m. eastern.

Mr. Walk Off, Kevin Newman sent the Pirates home in extra innings, as the Pirates beat the Reds 4-3, after a three-run blown lead given up by Chase De Jong.

The game will be aired on AT&T Sportsnet PIT and heard on 93.7 The Fan.

Weather

Beautiful weather is expected in St. Louis at first pitch. Temperatures are expected to be around 65 degrees, and there will be a slight 5 mph wind blowing northeast.

Starters

The Pirates will send out Johan Oviedo (4-2, 3.13 ERA) to begin this three-game series.

Oviedo was brilliant in his last start on Sept. 24. Oviedo pitched seven shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs. One of the most important stats from that start was Oviedo did not walk a single batter. Prior to that start, Oviedo had walked 14 in four starts.

The Cardinals will send out Jack Flaherty (1-1, 4.97 ERA).

Flaherty struggled in his last start against the Pirates on Sept. 10. Flaherty went five innings, gave up six hits, three earned runs, and four walks. The Pirates aren’t what you call patient, so those four walks are an even bigger eye sore. To add salt to a wound, Flaherty failed to strike out a single Pirates’ batter. The Pirates are second worst in all of MLB with 1,459 strikeouts… YIKES!

Betting Odds

The Cardinals open up as favorites on the moneyline at -210 and the Pirates are +175. St. Louis’ runline of -1.5 can be had at +110 odds, whereas Pittsburgh’s +1.5 is at -136 odds. The O/U opens up at 7.5 runs.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not

Who’s Hot: Miguel Andujar hit yet another RBI double on Wednesday and finished the game two for four with an RBI.

Who’s Not: The usually sturdy De Jong imploded against the Reds on Wednesday. De Jong gave up a single and then two-straight home runs, blowing a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning.

Tidbits

During his start on Wednesday, Bryse Wilson became the first Pirates’ pitcher in the 2022 season and the first since Tyler Anderson did it on May 9, 2021, against the Cubs.
The last Pirates’ pitcher to pitch 8+ shutout innings was Ivan Nova in 2018 on June 22 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
With Oneil Cruz going two for five on Wednesday, he has recorded a multi-hit game in four -straight games. Cruz is batting .293/.346/.566 with six homers and 18 RBIs in September.