Cole has been 5-0 recently and pitching great as a rookie. Pittsburgh will use their speed, youth and pitching to steal this one and its a great price as +150. This one will go to a game 5 as they have split games in Pittsburgh and St Louis so far. Wednesday nights Game 5 will feature rookie Gerrit Cole for the Pirates and veteran Adam Wainwright for the Cards. Cole faced St Louis in Game 2 going 6 innings allowing just 2 hits and 1 earned run. He had 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. During the regular season he made 7 road starts and he went 4-2 with a 2.38 ERA, .217 OBA and 0.95 WHIP and this is why he is starting over the veteran AJ Burnett. Also, the Pirates are coming off a game where they were 1-hit.
In 22 career games (18 starts) vs the Pirates Wainwright owns a high 4.81 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and .282 OBA. That isn't to say that he won't pitch great here in this 'do or die' game, but I do think that this line has value for the underdog. The Pirates have won Cole's last 6 starts, including 4 straight of his starts as an underdog. Overall the Pirates are 19-7 in their last 26 games as an underdog, and 9-2 in their last 11 road games. If Cole can pitch like he did in Game 2 he will give his team a great shot at winning this game and advancing.