Pirates at Cardinals 6/1/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Pittsburgh Pirates visit the St. Louis Cardinals for a National League Central showdown on Friday.

The Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. Pittsburgh received a strong outing on the mound from Joe Musgrove as he went seven innings. A hard slide again at home plate caused the benches for both team to empty onto the field but calm was quickly restored.

The Cardinals lost to Milwaukee 3-2 on Wednesday. In the loss, Harrison Bader hit a home run for the Cardinals and Dexter Fowler collected three singles. The Pirates and Cardinals opened this series on Thursday. Starling Marte leads the Pirates with a team high .309 batting average. Gregory Polanco has the team lead in home runs with eight, while Corey Dickerson leads in RBIs with 31 and hits with 60. Pittsburgh has a team batting average of .257, while opposing hitters are averaging .254 at the plate against Pirates pitching. On Friday, the Pirates will send Jameson Taillon to the mound. The right-hander this season is 2-4 with an ERA of 4.53, 54 Ks and 17 BBs.

Jose Martinez leads the Cardinals with a .298 batting average and a team high in hits with 57 and in RBIs with 31. Tommy Pham is leading in home runs with nine. St. Louis has a team batting average of .240 while opposing hitters are averaging .239 at the plate against Cardinals pitching. On Friday, the Cardinals will send Miles Mikolas to the mound. The right-hander this season is 6-0 with an ERA of 2.58, 51 Ks and 7 BBs.