The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates meet Monday in MLB action at PNC Park. Here’s a Pirates vs. Cardinals Prediction. This article will include a Pirates vs. Cardinals Pick.
St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview
The St. Louis Cardinals are 14-13 on the year and play the Dodgers and Brewers next. The St. Louis Cardinals are batting .235 on the season and have a .324 OBP, and a .390 slugging percentage. The St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff has a 4.87 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Jordan Walker leads the St. Louis Cardinals with 28 hits and 16 RBI while Alec Burleson and JJ Wetherholt have combined for 49 hits and 30 RBI.
Dustin May gets the ball for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he is 3-2 with a 5.84 ERA and 20 strikeouts this season. This will be May’s second career game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Preview
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 16-12 on the year and play the Reds and Diamondbacks next. The Pittsburgh Pirates are batting .241 on the season and have a .325 OBP, and a .372 slugging percentage. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching staff has a 3.34 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Oneil Cruz leads the Pittsburgh Pirates with 29 hits and 24 RBI, while Ryan O’Hearn and Nick Gonzales have combined for 56 hits and 29 RBI.
Mason Montgomery gets the ball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he is 1-0 with a 3.97 ERA and 21 strikeouts this season. Montgomery is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 2 strikeouts in his career against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Why the Pittsburgh Pirates will win
- The Pirates have won each of their last 10 games following a loss.
- The Cardinals have lost each of their last nine Monday road games against NL Central opponents.
- The Pirates have covered the run line in each of their last 10 games following a loss.
- The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six road games against NL Central opponents following a home loss.
- The Pirates have won the first inning in three of their last four games against the Cardinals.
- The Cardinals have trailed after 5 innings in seven of their last eight games as road underdogs against National League opponents.
- The Pirates have led after 3 innings in four of their last five home games.
Why the St. Louis Cardinals will win
- The Pirates have lost each of their last eight home games against NL Central opponents.
- The Cardinals have won seven of their last eight games as underdogs against National League opponents following a home loss.
- The Pirates have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven home games against NL Central opponents.
- The underdogs have covered the run line in 11 of the Cardinals’ last 12 games at PNC Park.
- The Pirates have lost the first inning in three of their last four home games against NL Central opponents.
- The Cardinals have led after 5 innings in five of their last six night games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- The Pirates have trailed after 3 innings in three of their last four home games against NL Central opponents.
Total Runs Facts
- Seven of the Cardinals’ last eight games as underdogs against National League opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Each of the last four games between the Cardinals and Pirates at PNC Park has gone UNDER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Pirates’ last six night games against NL Central opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in 10 of the Cardinals’ last 12 games at PNC Park.
Pittsburgh Pirates Player Prop Facts
- Marcell Ozuna has recorded at least one hit in 12 of his last 13 home appearances against the Cardinals.
- Jared Triolo has hit a home run in three of his last four appearances with the Pirates as home favorites.
- Oneil Cruz ranks T4th in the league in Steals (10) this season.
St. Louis Cardinals Player Prop Facts
- Nolan Gorman has hit a home run in three of his last four Monday appearances against NL Central teams that held a winning record.
- Dustin May has recorded five or more strikeouts in three of his last four appearances against NL Central opponents.
- Ramon Urias has recorded at least one hit in each of his last seven road appearances against NL Central opponents.
- Dustin May has recorded a win in each of his last three appearances.
- Jordan Walker ranks T8th amongst qualified players for Slugging Percentage (.566) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Pirates rank 1st in the league for home runs allowed this season (19).
- The Pirates rank 28th in the league for strikeouts against this season (271).
- The Cardinals rank 30th in the league for strikeouts this season (182).
- The Cardinals rank 28th in the league for doubles this season (35).
Pirates vs Cardinals Prediction
The Cardinals are coming off a horrible week and their offensive production continues to dip. May is a World Series champ and has shown flashes throughout his career, but he has a 5.84 ERA and 1.54 WHIP through 24.2 innings this season. Not ideal. Montgomery has been sharper despite limited frames, and the Pirates are simply playing the better ball overall. The price is cheap. I have no choice but to side with the Pirates given the way the Cardinals are playing right now.