Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 6/27/2021
Pittsburgh Pirates (28-47) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (37-40)
June 27, 2021 2:15 pm EDT
The Line: St. Louis Cardinals -150 / Pittsburgh Pirates +139; Over/Under: +9
(Get latest betting odds)
The Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Sunday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. This will be the final installment in a four-game set between these teams over the weekend. The Pirates won the first two games, then on Saturday the Cardinals struck back with a two-run victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Pittsburgh posted a nice 8-2 win in the Thursday opener of this set, then followed that up with a 5-4 win on Friday. In the Saturday game three, the Pirates out-hit the Cardinals 7-6 but ended up falling 3-1. JT Brubaker lasted 6.0 innings with six hits and three earned in the defeat.
For the Sunday finale, the Pirates will send out Max Kranick in his debut. In his MiLB career, Kranick is 14-16 with a 3.47 ERA, one save and 230 strikeouts in 280.0 innings over 58 games (54 starts).
Over on the Cardinals’ side, they finally got their offense moving a bit with nine hits Friday, but couldn’t keep up on the scoreboard. In the Saturday game, St. Louis still couldn’t get a ton of offense going but they made it work. Adam Wainwright managed 6.0 innings with six hits and one earned.
For the Sunday finale, the Cardinals will send Johan Oviedo to the mound. This year over nine games (eight starts) Oviedo has an 0-3 record, a 4.62 ERA, 37 hits, 20 earned runs and six homers allowed in 39.0 innings of work.
The Pirates are 16-35 in their last 51 overall and 16-36 in their last 52 versus the NL Central. Pittsburgh is 19-54 in their last 73 road games and 0-6 in their last six Sunday games.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 5-16 in their last 21 overall and 1-6 in their last seven Sunday games. St. Louis is 0-4 in their last four in game four of a series and the under is 3-1-1 in their last five home games.
PICK: I suppose I’m sticking with Pittsburgh, but probably staying away. The Pirates have been on a pretty decent run lately (especially given their recent struggles) and St. Louis has continued their futile slide. Oviedo is still searching for his first victory, and though I like him to pitch reasonably well I don’t trust the Cardinals offense to help him out. Pittsburgh should have the opportunity for another win here.
