Pirates-Cardinals Betting Preview: Can Poncedeleon Keep up with Taillon?

Betting Odds: Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals

• Pirates moneyline: -105 (Jameson Taillon)
• Cardinals moneyline: -105 (Daniel Poncedeleon)
• Over/Under: 8.5 (+105/-125)
• First pitch: 1:15 p.m. ET

This divisional matchup has the makings of an under-the-radar pitchers' duel.

Jameson Taillon takes the ball for the Pirates and he is simply on fire. Over his last three starts, the 26-year-old has posted 21 strikeouts in 18 innings and has a 2.00 ERA in that span.

But this hot streak stretches further back than that.

Taillon has logged a quality start in 10 of his last 11 outings. Since that run started back on July 7, he's got a 2.55 ERA and has held opponents to a .296 on-base percentage in 70.2 innings.

Taillon will take on fellow youngster Daniel Poncedeleon at Busch Stadium. This is only his fourth start of the season but I think he's got electric stuff. His fastball is sitting between 93 and 95 mph and just seems to disappear.

Poncedeleon seems to have a pretty strict innings limit game-to-game and he's spent time in the bullpen, but when he's on the mound he's tough on hitters.

I think Poncedeleon's job will be to keep the Pirates at bay for four innings. He'll empty the tank and turn the lineup over once before making way for the bullpen. I like his chances to just that, as the Bucs rank 17th in the MLB in wRC+.

If Poncedeleon does his part, I have all the faith in the world that Taillon will keep rolling. I love the under in this game especially with them being in the same division and the Cardinals fighting for a playoff spot.

Be advised that this number may tick down to 8 at some places, so make sure you shop around.

The Pick: Under 8.5