Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction & Betting Tips 7/24/2024

Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Preview

There are 8 games on the MLB schedule for Wednesday, and one of those is an NL Central matchup between the Cardinals and Pirates. This one is getting started at 12:35 PM ET from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and the Pirates are the slight favorite on the money line (-114).

The over/under line is currently 8.5 runs, and MLBN will be televising this matchup. Matthew Liberatore is starting for the Cardinals, and they are 2nd in the NL Central, while the Pirates are 3rd in the division with a record of 51-50.

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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals Trends and Key Stats

• 3-2 is the record of Cardinals in their last five road games. They have also gone 5-0 vs. the runline.
• On the opposing side, the Pirates have a 4-1 (SU) record, along with a 3-2 record in their last five home contests.
• In their previous ten games, Cardinals have won 6-4 as favorites and 5-5 as underdogs.
• 7-3 is the record of the Pirates as the favorite, while their record as the underdog stands at 5-5.

It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this Cardinals vs. Pirates series. St. Louis went into the matchup as +155 underdogs and squeaked out a 2-1 win. Both teams scored their only run in the first inning, and the Pirates could only muster four hits the rest of the game.

Pittsburgh wasted a good outing from Paul Skenes, as he gave up just two earned runs in 8 1/3 innings of work. Ryan Fernandez got the win for the Cardinals out of the bullpen, and Ryan Helsley got the save.

Nolan Arenado was the difference for the Cardinals, as he homered in the first and scored their only other run in the 5th. Jack Suwinski also had a two-hit game for Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction

The Cardinals are 53-48 overall and trail the Brewers by five games in the NL Central. St. Louis is 16-15 against other teams in the NL Central. The Cardinals will be playing on the road today, and they are 27-26 on the road this year.

St. Louis has won two straight series on the road, and their overall series record is 16-12-3 this year. As the road favorite, the Cardinals are 10-6 this year, and they are 28-23 as the favorite overall. So far, they have gone 25-25 as the underdog.

When the Cardinals are favored, they are a poor bet against the run line, but as underdogs, they have been a strong play. They have a run line record of 33-17 as underdogs, compared to 19-32 as favorites. Their overall run line record is 52-49, and they have covered the run line in seven straight road games.

When the St. Louis Cardinals are on the road, the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs. The combined run average in their games is 8.6, and their over/under record this season is 47-51. Their games have averaged 8 runs per game when the line is set at 8 runs, but when the line is set at 8.5 runs, their over/under record is 22-13. The under has hit in their last three games.

Matthew Liberatore has made five starts this year and 33 appearances. He is coming off a game in which he pitched out of the bullpen and finished with a no-decision. In that outing vs. the Cubs, he pitched one-third of an inning and didn’t give up a run. Looking back at his last three outings, he has finished with a no-decision in each one. The most earned runs he has given up in an outing is three, and he has done that twice this month. Liberatore’s ERA for the season is 4.15, along with a record of 2-2. Opponents are batting .236 vs. the left-hander this year.

St. Louis is averaging just 4.1 runs per game this season, which is 22nd in the league. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and OPS. However, the Cardinals do have a team batting average of .245, which is 10th in the MLB. Alec Burleson has been a bright spot for the Cardinals, as he is batting .293 for the season and has gone 15/41 (.366) over his last 10 games. During this stretch, he has three homers and 13 RBIs.

So far, Burleson leads the team with 60 RBIs and is 2nd on the team with 18 home runs. Nolan Gorman has also been a good source of power for the Cardinals, as he is 11th in the league with 19 homers, but he is batting just .207 for the season.

Pittsburgh is 51-50 overall and trails the Brewers by seven games in the NL Central. Currently, they are 3rd in the division and have gone 16-15 against other teams in the division. The Pirates are 7-3 over their last ten games and have won three straight series.

At home, the Pirates are 25-26 this year and 26-24 on the road. As the underdog, Pittsburgh is 29-30 this year and 22-20 as the favorite. The Pirates have an overall series record of 14-12-5 this year.

When betting the run line on the Pirates, it’s been a profitable strategy overall, as they are 55-46 against the run line. They have been especially good on the road, going 30-20 against the run line. They have been an underdog more often than not, and they have been a great bet in that role, going 40-19 against the run line. In their wins, they have an average run margin of +3.3, while in their losses, it’s -3.6.

Today’s over/under line for the Pittsburgh Pirates game against the St. Louis Cardinals is set at 8.5 runs. The Pirates have played to the over in 19 of their 32 games when the line has been set at 8.5 runs this season, and their games have averaged a combined 8.4 runs per game this year. Pittsburgh has an over/under record of 46-54 on the season, and their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs per game. The under has hit in each of their last four games.

Martín Pérez gets the start for the Pirates today vs. the Cardinals and comes into the game with a record of 1-5 and ERA of 5.61. So far this year, he has made 15 starts, and opponents are batting .312 off the left-hander. In his 15 appearances, Pérez has turned in four quality starts and is averaging 7.13 strikeouts per nine innings. Looking back at his last outing, Pérez finished with a no-decision vs. the Phillies, giving up six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings of work. Before that, he had given up just one earned run in three straight outings.

Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds have been the Pirates’ top power threats this season, as Reynolds leads the team with 18 homers, and Cruz is right behind him with 15. Reynolds also comes into the game with a team-high 61 RBIs and is batting .288 for the season. Cruz has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 9/28 in his last seven games.

As a team, the Pirates are batting just .233 and are 23rd in the league in scoring at 4.1 runs per game. They have been a bit better on the road, averaging 4.4 runs per contest. Currently, they are near the bottom of the league in home runs and have the 26th ranked OPS in the MLB.

Our predicted final score for this Cardinals vs. Pirates matchup is 6-5 in favor of the Cardinals. We are recommending that you take the Cardinals on the money line, where you can get them at -105.

Looking at the starting pitchers, Martin Perez is projected to finish with four strikeouts, which is the same as Matthew Liberatore. However, we have Perez finishing with a higher ERA than Liberatore.

Offensively, we have the Cardinals finishing with 11 hits compared to the Pirates with nine. The Cardinals are also projected to hit more home runs than the Pirates.

If you’re looking for a parlay, you could look to pair the Cardinals with the over, as we have the total runs at 11 and the line sitting at 8.5.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Betting Tips

• We like the Cardinals on the moneyline (-105)
• The Cardinals are also our pick on the spread at -1.5
• Projecting a combined 11 runs, we like the over

Pittsburgh Pirates Injury Report

St. Louis Cardinals Injury Report