In this article we will formulate a St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates prediction for this MLB game on Wednesday, September 18th at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game three in the series.
St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview
The St. Louis Cardinals are 76-75 this year and they have lost three of their last five games. St. Louis has won games one and two in this series by scores of 4-0 and 3-1. Prior to this series, the Cardinals lost all three against the Blue Jays, won two out of three against the Reds, and lost two out of three against the Mariners. St. Louis is 4-5 in their last nine games and they are third in the NL Central.
The St. Louis pitching staff has a 4.06 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a .247 opponent batting average. The Cardinals’ offense has scored 614 runs with a .245 batting average and a .309 on-base percentage. Paul Goldschmidt is batting .244 with 21 home runs and 59 RBI’s for the Cardinals this season.
Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Preview
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 71-80 this season and they have lost four of their last five games. Pittsburgh has dropped the first two games in this series and they have scored a total of one run in the two games. Prior to this series, the Pirates lost two out of three against the Royals, swept the Marlins, and split four games with the Nationals. Pittsburgh is 5-4 in their last nine games and they are last in the NL Central.
The Pittsburgh pitching staff has a 4.12 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a .251 opponent batting average. The Pirates’ offense has scored 628 runs with a .235 batting average and a .302 on-base percentage. Bryan Reynolds is batting .280 with 22 home runs and 85 RBI’s for the Pirates this season.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for St. Louis is Sonny Gray, who is 13-9 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP over 160.2 innings pitched this season. Gray has allowed one earned run in each of his last three starts. The projected starting pitcher for Pittsburgh is Jake Woodford, who is 0-6 with an 8.01 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP over 30.1 innings pitched this year. Woodford has allowed 12 earned runs in his last two outings (7.1 IP).
Why the Cardinals will beat the Pirates
- The home team has won each of the Cardinals’ last seven games.
- The Pirates have lost seven of their last eight road games against National League opponents following a loss.
- The Pirates have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games at Busch Stadium.
- The Cardinals have covered the run line in each of their last five night games against the Pirates following a win.
- The Pirates have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five games as underdogs.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Cardinals’ last seven home games against National League opponents has gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Each of the Pirates’ last five games after playing the previous day has gone UNDER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last 14 games between the Pirates and Cardinals.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Pirates’ last eight games at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis Cardinals Player Prop Facts
- Brendan Donovan has recorded at least one hit in each of his 16 previous home appearances against the Pirates.
- Sonny Gray has recorded seven or more strikeouts in each of his last four appearances against NL Central opponents.
- Sonny Gray has recorded a win in five of his last six home appearances against the Pirates.
- Willson Contreras has hit a home run in each of his last two home appearances against NL opponents that held a losing record.
- Nolan Arenado has recorded an RBI in seven of the Cardinals’ last eight night games against opponents that held a losing record.
- Paul Goldschmidt has recorded at least one Single in each of his last eight Wednesday night appearances at Busch Stadium.
- Brendan Donovan has recorded at least one total base in each of his 16 previous home appearances against the Pirates.
- Masyn Winn has scored at least one run in five of his last six appearances with the Cardinals as favorites.
Pittsburgh Pirates Player Prop Facts
- Bryan Reynolds has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 10 appearances with the Pirates as underdogs against the Cardinals.
- Bryan De La Cruz has hit a home run in three of his last four appearances against the Cardinals after playing the previous day.
- Andrew McCutchen has recorded at least one RBI in eight of his last nine road appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
- Yasmani Grandal has recorded a Single in each of his last seven appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
- Bryan Reynolds has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 10 appearances with the Pirates as underdogs against the Cardinals.
- Bryan De La Cruz has scored a run in each of his last five appearances against the Cardinals after playing the previous day.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction
St. Louis has won the first two games in this series and they are back over .500 on the season. The Cardinals are 41-35 at home this year, while the Pirates are 33-40 on the road. Pittsburgh has struggled over the last week and the offense has been non-existent in the first two games of this series. The Cardinals have a big advantage with Sonny Gray on the mound in this game, as he has been very good recently. Take St. Louis to win by at least two runs.