The St. Louis Cardinals look to keep their slim postseason hopes alive when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday evening for the third contest of the four-game series between the National League Central rivals. St. Louis (65-68), which split the first two games of the set with Pittsburgh, is 6.5 games out of the third and final NL wild card spot with 29 remaining.
After squandering a one-run lead in the ninth inning of Monday’s series opener, St. Louis edged Pittsburgh 7-6 thanks to Alec Burleson’s two-out homer in the bottom of the frame. The Pirates came out with a purpose on Tuesday, scoring eight runs over the first three innings en route to an 8-3 victory.
Sonny Gray (12-6, 4.33 ERA) takes the mound Wednesday for the Cardinals, who have lost nine of their last 13 contests. The 35-year-old right-hander, who is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three starts against the Pirates this season, has allowed three runs or fewer in four of his last five overall outings.
The Pirates, who have won five of their last six games, counter with Carmen Mlodzinski (3-7, 3.89). The 26-year-old righty will be making his 11th start of the season but second since mid-May. Mlodzinski started twice against the Cardinals earlier this season, going 1-0 while giving up three runs and recording eight strikeouts over 9 2/3 innings.
In addition to the Pirates-Cardinals matchup, there are 10 other games on the MLB evening schedule and a pair of contests on the WNBA slate.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Wednesday, Aug. 27. All times Eastern
MLB best bets, where to watch
Pirates at Cardinals
Time: 7:45 p.m. | Location: St. Louis | TV: FS1 | Stream: Fubo (Start watching, save $20!)
SportsLine pick — Model: Pirates +1.5 (-147)
The Pirates have won five of their last six contests, and their only loss in that span was by one run. In fact, two of their last three defeats were one-run decisions. The SportsLine Projection Model sees Pittsburgh keeping the game close on Wednesday, as it has the team covering the spread in 68% of its simulations to make it a B-rated pick.
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WNBA best bets, where to watch
Aces at Dream
Time: 7:30 p.m. | Location: Atlanta | TV: NBA TV | Stream: Fubo (Start watching, save $20!)
SportsLine pick — Expert prop: NaLyssa Smith Under 4.5 rebounds -125 (Max Meyer)
The Aces enter with an 11-game winning streak and have defeated the Eastern Conference-leading Dream four straight times, including twice this season. Smith is second on the team with an average of 5.6 rebounds, but the 25-year-old forward has recorded fewer than five in four of her last five contests. SportsLine’s Max Meyer sees that trend continuing, as Smith grabbed a total of five rebounds in her two Aces-Dreams battles this year, including just one when the clubs clashed eight days ago.
Looking ahead: Nebraska vs. Cincinnati
Time: 9 p.m., Thursday | Location: Kansas City, Mo. | TV: ESPN
SportsLine picks — Model: Cincinnati +6.5 | Expert: Under 54.5 -112 (Matt Severance)
The only previous meeting between the teams took place in 1906, when the Cornhuskers rolled to a 41-0 victory over the Bearcats. Despite losing five of its final six regular-season games, Nebraska finished last season with its first winning record (7-6) since going 9-4 in 2016.
Cincinnati also ended 2024 on a bad note, dropping its final five contests to finish at 5-7. But the Bearcats have excelled in season openers, winning 18 of their last 20. They’ll have their work cut out for them, however, as the Cornhuskers historically have gotten off to a good start, going 98-32-5 in their openers.
The Bearcats are hoping for another strong season from redshirt junior Brendan Sorsby, who was one of only three quarterbacks in the nation with 2,500 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns and nine rushing TDs last year. The SportsLine Projection Model believes Sorsby and Cincinnati will make Thursday’s contest a tight one, as it has projected a 25-19 victory for Nebraska. SportsLine expert Matt Severance doesn’t see a high-scoring game, as the Bearcats and Cornhuskers averaged fewer than 20 points over their final five and six contests, respectively, last season. Click here to see the model’s score and player projections for some notable games on the Week 1 college football slate.