The St. Louis Cardinals will play host to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. The action starts at 1:15 p.m. ET and you can watch the game on either ATPT or FSMW.
Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals Odds
St. Louis (receiving -130 odds) is favored over Pittsburgh and Vegas has put the Over/Under for this one at 9 runs. The odds for betting on the game’s total currently sit at -105 for the over and -115 for the under. The game’s current runline odds sit at -175 for picking the Pirates +1.5 runs and +155 for the Cardinals -1.5.
The Cardinals are 47-46 straight up (SU) and 46-46 against the spread (ATS). The team has lost 8.8 units for moneyline bettors and 1.6 units ATS. St. Louis has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in five of those seven. The Pirates are 45-49 SU and have gone 48-45 ATS. Overall, the club has gained 2.6 units for moneyline bettors, but have lost 6.3 units ATS. Pittsburgh is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the over has hit in five of those seven.
Cardinals games have an over/under record of 38-47-7 so far in 2019. The Pirates have been a solid over bet with a total record of 54-35-4.
Chris Archer is getting the nod for the visiting Pirates. The right-handed Archer is 3-6 with a 5.42 ERA and 98 strikeouts. He’s 0-0 with eight strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA against St. Louis this year.
The Cardinals will put the ball in the right hand of Daniel Ponce de Leon (1-0, 1.99 ERA, 0.82 WHIP), who has 38 strikeouts and 11 walks this season. Ponce de Leon has yet to face the Pirates this year and only made one start against them in 2018 (0-1, 3.60 ERA and seven strikeouts across five innings).
As a unit, St. Louis’ pitchers have given up 4.3 runs per game overall this season. The club’s starters have a 4.10 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 3.95 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 10.2 K/9. In 34 divisional games, Cardinals starters have an ERA of 4.43 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.95.
St. Louis’ hitters have put up 4.4 runs per outing, including 4.6 per game against divisional foes and 3.8 per game over their last five. The team’s hit .216/.294/.359 over its last five games and is 3-2 SU during that stretch.
The Cardinals’ hitters have been led by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and shortstop Paul DeJong. Goldschmidt is hitting .250/.339/.425 with 17 home runs, 40 RBIs and 55 runs scored, and DeJong is hitting .251 with 13 homers, 37 RBIs and 58 runs scored.
In the visiting dugout, Pittsburgh’s pitchers have allowed 5.3 runs per game and its starters own a 5.08 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 8.38 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.86, along with a WHIP of 1.42 and a K/9 of 9.66.
The Pirates offense has slashed .269/.326/.433 on its way to 4.7 runs scored per game in 2019, including 4.6 runs per game against divisional foes and 2.6 per game over the team’s last five outings (1-4 SU).
First baseman Josh Bell and outfielder Starling Marte continue to lead Pittsburgh’s offense. Bell is slashing .294/.368/.625 with 27 home runs, 84 RBIs and 70 runs scored. Marte (.276/.317/.477) is up to 15 homers, 51 RBIs, 58 runs and 13 steals.
The Pirates have gained 5.5 units and are 38-32 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has cashed in 38 of those games, as opposed to 29 that’ve hit the under against righties. On the other hand, the Cardinals have lost 4.3 units and are 38-34 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in 28 of those games, compared to 39 that’ve cashed the under.
Pirates at Cardinals Free MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Pirates, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The under has hit in just two of Pittsburgh’s last seven games.
- The Pirates have hit 11 home runs in their last 10 games. The Cardinals have hit 12 over their last 10.
- The Pirates have an OPS of .759 this season and an OPS of .779 against right-handed pitchers. The Cardinals’ OPS stands at .719 overall and .718 against righties.
- St. Louis has recorded 20.6 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 games and 17.0 over its last five.
