Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Preview
The forecast from Pittsburgh on Wednesday calls for broken clouds and temperatures in the mid-80s. First pitch for this NL Central matchup is set for 6:40 PM ET from PNC Park. St. Louis is on a two-game winning streak and is 44-40 overall, while the Pirates are 40-44 and have won three straight. Jared Jones will start for the Pirates, and the Cardinals are starting Miles Mikolas.
Pittsburgh is at -127 on the money line compared to the Cardinals at +109. The over/under line is currently at 8 runs, and the game can be seen on BSMW.
Check out BetCoco for Pittsburgh Pirates – St. Louis Cardinals odds
Pittsburgh Pirates Trends and Key Stats
- The Cardinals are 3-2 across their last five road games. They have gone 2-3 vs. the runline.
- Conversely, the Pirates have achieved a 3-2 (SU) record and 4-1 record in their last five home games.
- The Pirates have a straight-up record of 6-4 in their last ten games as the favorite, and a 4-6 record vs. the runline.
- Looking at the Cardinals’ previous ten games as the underdog they are 8-2 straight-up and 8-2 vs. the runline.
St. Louis picked up a 7-4 road win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. The Cardinals had a huge 4th inning, scoring four of their seven runs. As for the Pirates, they scored their four runs in the 5th. Heading into the game, the Cardinals were at +103 on the money line.
Kyle Gibson got the win for the Cardinals in this one, going five innings and giving up four earned runs. He finished the game with eight strikeouts but issued five walks. As for the Pirates, Mitch Keller gave up five earned runs in five innings of work.
Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson each homered for the Cardinals, while Jack Suwinski went deep for the Pirates. Gorman, Brendan Donovan, and Paul Goldschmidt each had two hits and two RBIs for St. Louis’ offense.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction
St. Louis is on the road today, taking on the Pirates, and they are 2nd in the NL Central, six games behind the Brewers. The Cardinals have an overall record of 44-40, and they are 12-11 in divisional games. St. Louis has won two straight games, and they are 7-3 over their last 10.
At home, the Cardinals have gone 24-18 this year, and they are just above .500 at 20-22 on the road. So far, they have been the underdog in two straight games, and as the underdog overall, the Cardinals are 22-21 this year.
The Cardinals have been a profitable run line team this season, going 43-41 overall. They have been particularly good as an underdog, going 27-16 on the run line. Their average run differential in winning games is +2.4, while it drops to -3.6 in losses.
St. Louis has played in 51.2% of games with O/U lines set at 8 runs this season, and their O/U record in those games is 7-9-1. The Cardinals’ games have averaged 8.4 runs per game, and their overall O/U record is 37-44.
St. Louis is sending right-hander Miles Mikolas to the mound today as he faces the Pirates on the road. Mikolas has made 17 starts this year and has a record of 6-7 with a 5.32 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Mikolas has a WHIP of 1.25 and opponents are batting .268 this season. In his last outing, Mikolas took the loss, going 4 1/3 innings and giving up nine earned runs on 12 hits. Before that, he had won two straight starts. One positive note for Mikolas is that he has made nine quality starts this year.
So far this season, the Cardinals offense is averaging only 4 runs per game, which is 26th in the league. Their home run numbers are also below average, as they are just 17th in the league in home runs. As a team, the Cardinals are batting .240, which is 15th in the league.
One thing to keep an eye on is the fact that both Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson have been swinging the bat well of late. Over their last 10 games, Donovan is batting .361 and Burleson is hitting .324. For the season, Burleson is batting .280 with 13 homers, while Nolan Gorman is batting just .192 but does have 17 homers.
The Pirates are 40-44 overall and trail the Brewers by 10 games in the NL Central. So far, they are just 12-12 in divisional games. Pittsburgh will be hosting the Cardinals today, and they are 3rd in the NL Central, four games behind St. Louis and six games behind the Brewers.
At home, the Pirates have gone 19-21 this season while posting a 21-23 mark on the road. As the favorite, the Pirates are 15-19 this year and 25-25 as the underdog. Pittsburgh has dropped two straight, and they are 4-6 over their last 10 games.
Despite their losing record, the Pirates have been a profitable team to bet on the run line this season, as they are 45-39. They have been even better on the road, going 26-18. However, they have lost five straight on the run line at home and are just 19-21 on the run line at PNC Park this season. They are 34-16 on the run line as an underdog, but just 11-23 as the favorite. Their average run differential in wins is +3.0, while it is -3.6 in losses.
When the Pittsburgh Pirates play at home, the over/under line is set at 8 runs. Their games have averaged 8.5 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 39-44. When the line is set at 8 runs, their over/under record is 10-12. Overall, 46.4% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 8 runs, while 27.4% have had lower lines.
Jared Jones gets the start for the Pirates today and will be looking to build off his last outing, where he gave up just two earned runs in seven innings of work. In that outing vs. the Rays, he gave up three homers. Looking back further, Jones has allowed at least one homer in four straight starts. Jones’ ERA for the season is 3.66, along with a record of 5-6. Opponents are batting .215 off the right-hander this season. Per nine innings, Jones is averaging 9.73 strikeouts and 2.62 walks.
So far this season, the Pirates are averaging just 4 runs per game, which is 25th in the league. They haven’t been any better at home, where they are averaging just 3.8 runs per game. As a team, they are batting just .227 and have an on-base percentage of only .296.
Andrew McCutchen and Oneil Cruz are tied for 2nd on the Pirates with 12 home runs this season, but McCutchen is batting just .232, and Cruz is at .237. Bryan Reynolds has been the Pirates’ top hitter this season, leading the team with 46 RBIs while batting .271. McCutchen has gone deep twice in his last five games, but he is just 3/20 in that stretch.
Our prediction for today’s Cardinals vs. Pirates matchup is to take the Pirates on the money line at -127. We have the Pirates winning this one by a score of 5-4. With the over/under sitting at 8 runs, this would give you a little bit of wiggle room if you wanted to take the over, as we have this one finishing with a combined nine runs.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Jared Jones finishing with four strikeouts compared to Miles Mikolas with just three. Jones is also projected to finish with fewer hits allowed than Mikolas, and we have Jones going 5.1 innings compared to Mikolas at 5.0.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Betting Tips
- Take the Pirates on the moneyline
- On the run line we like the Cardinals (+1.5)
- Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over
Pittsburgh Pirates Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Johan Oviedo | Out | Elbow |
| Marco Gonzales | Out | Forearm |
| Dennis Santana | Probable | Arm |
| Ryan Borucki | Out | Triceps |
| David Bednar | Out | Oblique |
| Dauri Moreta | Out | Elbow |
| Quinn Priester | Out | Lat |
| Henry Davis | Out | Head |
| Hunter Stratton | Out | Triceps |
| Endy Rodríguez | Out | Elbow |
St. Louis Cardinals Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Steven Matz | Out | Back |
| Keynan Middleton | Out | Forearm |
| Tommy Edman | Out | Wrist |
| Drew Rom | Out | Biceps |
| Iván Herrera | Out | Back |
| Riley O’Brien | Out | Forearm |
| Lars Nootbaar | Out | Oblique |
