Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 6/26/2021

The Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals meet Saturday in MLB action at Busch Stadium. The Pirates look for a win after winning five of their last seven games. The Cardinals need a win to snap a five-game losing streak.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have scored 16 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in five of their last seven games. The Pirates have won five straight games when scoring four or more runs. Adam Frazier leads the Pirates with 94 hits and 28 RBI while Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman have combined for 134 hits and 54 RBI. JT Brubaker gets the ball, and he is 4-6 with a 3.77 ERA and 72 strikeouts this season. Brubaker is 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA and 14 strikeouts in his career against the Cardinals.

The St. Louis Cardinals have scored eight runs in their last three games and three or less runs in six of their last eight games. The Cardinals have lost six straight games when scoring three or less runs. Tommy Edman leads the Cardinals with 81 hits and 19 RBI while Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt have combined for 144 hits and 87 RBI. Adam Wainwright gets the ball, and he is 5-5 with a 3.74 ERA and 84 strikeouts this season. Wainwright is 17-7 with a 4.17 ERA and 198 strikeouts in his career against the Pirates.

The Pirates are 4-1 in their last 5 Saturday games and 16-35 in their last 51 overall. The Cardinals are 4-1 in their last 5 home games and 0-4 in their last 4 overall. The over is 9-4-1 in Pirates last 14 road games. The over is 8-3 in Cardinals last 11 Saturday games. The Pirates are 24-50 in the last 74 meetings in St. Louis and 15-36 in the last 51 meetings.

The Pirates are playing the better baseball right now, and even if they weren’t, backing the Cardinals in the favorite role isn’t an option. The Cardinals continue to pile up the losses and they keep getting respect from oddsmakers for some strange reason. I can’t do it. Give me the Pirates and the plus money.