The Cardinals will finish well ahead of the Pirates this season, but in this one game to start the campaign Pittsburgh is priced rigt and the play on the road at St. Louis.
The Pirates probably are headed for a 17th-straight losing season. Like the Cardinals, they are going with a lot of young players. Some of these players even have talent.
The difference between the Pirates and Cardinals is starting pitching. The Cardinals have more quality starting pitchers.
In this one game matchup, though, the difference between the two clubs and starting pitchers is much shorter than the line. The oddsmaker is finding his way the first couple of weeks. Proof of that is in lines like this one.
Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright is good. Good as in solid, rather than good as in great. But Pirates starter southpaw Paul Maholm also is good. Maholm had a breakout season last year in becoming the team's ace. His strong performance carried over to the Grapefruit League where he looked exceptionally sharp.
Maholm was 2-1 versus St. Louis last season with a 3.05 ERA. The lefthander pitched through the sixth inning in 20 consecutive starts. The Pirates were 50-2 last season when leading after seven innings.
Tony LaRussa already is tinkering with his lineup. He's going to sit second baseman Skip Schumaker and third baseman David Freese against the lefty Maholm. They will be replaced by Brendan Ryan and Brian Barden, a third-string third baseman with Troy Glaus out.
At this price, with Maholm going, the Pirates are worth a one-unit play.
Free Pick: Pirates +170