The Cardinals will start Michael Wacha Friday night who has a solid 3.09 ERA. He has been very good on the road this year too. He gave up a two-run homer in the sixth inning of a 3-0 road loss to the Cubs on Saturday. Wacha has been lights out over his career against the Pirates though and that along with a Cardinals' offense that has been finally hitting the ball of late should be the difference in my opinion.
The Pirates counter with the struggling Francisco Liriano (0-3, 4.54 ERA) who has gone without a victory in 10 regular-season starts since earning a 5-4 win at Texas on Sept. 10th 2013. Liriano failed to pitch very good this season and the Pirates offense has stunk! He has struggled in his last two outings versus the Cardinals as well, most recently giving up four runs in six innings of a 6-1 loss back on April 5th, and then lasted just two innings on April 26th. I like the STL Cardinals here on Friday night.