Josh Bell and the Pittsburgh Pirates will head west to play their divisional rival St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The game will start at 8:15 p.m. ET and the matchup will be shown on ATPT and FSMW.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals Odds
Pittsburgh (+135) is coming into this one as the underdog against St. Louis (-145) and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under for this night game at nine runs (+110 for the over and -130 for the under). This game currently has a runline of Pirates +1.5 (-160) and Cardinals -1.5 (+140).
The Pirates are 44-48 SU and have gone 48-43 against the spread (ATS). They’ve gained 4.6 units for moneyline bettors, despite having lost 3.3 units ATS. Pittsburgh’s covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the total has gone over in six of those seven. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are 46-45 SU and 44-46 ATS. The team has lost 10.8 units for moneyline bettors and 4.1 units ATS. St. Louis has a 3-4 ATS record over its last seven games and the total has gone under in five of those seven.
St. Louis games have a 38-45-7 over/under record so far in 2019. The Pirates have been a solid over bet with a total record of 53-34-4.
The right-handed Joe Musgrove will get the start for the visiting Pirates. Musgrove is 6-7 with a 4.15 ERA and 83 strikeouts. He’s 0-1 with three strikeouts and a 24.00 ERA against St. Louis this year.
The Cardinals will turn to righty Miles Mikolas (5-9, 4.53 ERA), who has 75 strikeouts and 17 walks as well as a WHIP of 1.26. Mikolas is 0-1 with nine strikeouts and a 3.75 ERA across two starts against Pittsburgh this year.
Pittsburgh’s pitchers have allowed 5.3 runs per game and its starters own a 5.10 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 8.44 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.89, along with a K-per-9 of 9.68.
Pirates hitters have slashed .270/.327/.436 on their way to 4.8 runs scored per game this season, including 4.7 runs per game against divisional foes and 5.6 per game over the team’s last five contests (2-3 SU).
First baseman Josh Bell and right fielder Starling Marte continue to lead Pittsburgh’s hitters. Bell is slashing .298/.373/.636 with 27 home runs, 84 RBIs and 69 runs scored, while Marte (.279/.319/.484) has produced 15 homers, 51 RBIs, 57 runs and 13 stolen bases.
For the home team, St. Louis’ pitchers have allowed 4.4 runs per game overall this year. Its starters have an ERA of 4.21, a WHIP of 1.35 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.9. The bullpen has a 3.91 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 10.3 K/9. In 32 games against divisional foes, Cardinals starters have an ERA of 4.79 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.87.
The St. Louis hitters have put up 4.4 runs per contest, including 4.6 per game against divisional foes and 3.0 per game over their last five. The team has slashed .226/.276/.327 over its last five games and is 2-3 SU during that span.
The Cardinals’ hitters have been led by shortstop Paul DeJong and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. DeJong is hitting .254/.339/.435 with 13 home runs, 37 RBIs and 57 runs scored, while Goldschmidt’s line is .251/.339/.427 with 17 homers, 39 RBIs and 52 runs scored.
The Pirates have gained 6.5 units and are 38-31 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has cashed in 38 of those games, compared to 28 that’ve gone under against right-handed starting pitchers. On the other hand, the Cardinals have lost 6.3 units and are 36-34 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in 28 of those games, compared to 37 that’ve cashed the under.
Pirates at Cardinals MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Pirates, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The over has cashed in only two of St. Louis’ last seven games.
- Pittsburgh has recorded 29.0 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 26.4 over its last five.
- The Pirates have hit 17 home runs in their last 10 games. The Cardinals have hit 14 over their last 10.
- The Pirates have a total OPS of .763 this season and an OPS of .785 when facing right-handed pitchers. The Cardinals’ OPS stands at .719 overall and .717 against righties.
