The Cardinals-Pirates series has helped St. Louis to pull a few games above the .500 mark.

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St. Louis is 18-5 in the last 23 games of this series.  They have won 16 of their last 18 games at PNC Park. 

The Cardinals will aim for their third series sweep of the season when they conclude a three-game road set against the Pirates on Sunday as a -126 favorite.

The Pittsburgh bullpen, a stalwart the past few weeks, has given up 11 runs in 7 2/3 innings through the first two games against St. Louis.

"They were really good throughout the month of April," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of his relievers. "That's one of the things with bullpens -- they can be really good and (then) they're going to hit rough patches.

"We've just got to make sure we try to put guys in the right spots and we can get rolling again."

Pittsburgh has given up 34 first-inning runs, the most in the major leagues.

St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez (1-4, 4.76 ERA) is scheduled to face off against Pittsburgh right-hander Wil Crowe (0-0, 3.86 ERA).

On Tuesday, he pitched a season-high 7 1/3 innings in a win against the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up two runs, one earned, on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

The result also snapped a personal seven-game losing streak. It was his first win as a starter since July 7, 2018.

In his past two outings, Martinez has thrown 13 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and three runs (two earned), with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Against Pittsburgh, Martinez is 6-6 with a 3.59 ERA in 32 career appearances, including 13 starts.

Crowe will be making his second start and third appearance this season. It will be his fifth career start.

Five of the last six games in this series have gone OVER the total and we expect the same to happen here with an OVER 8.5. 

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com