The Pittsburgh Pirates will be taking on their division rival St. Louis Cardinals in a Sunday showdown. The opening pitch is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET and the matchup will be shown on either ATPT or FSMW.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals Odds
St. Louis (-190) is a sizable favorite against Pittsburgh (+180) and Vegas has put the Over/Under for this one at 9 runs. Odds for betting on the game’s total currently stand at -115 for the under and -105 for the over. Gamblers can also bet on the game’s runline with the current odds standing at -125 for the Pirates +1.5 runs and +105 for the Cardinals -1.5 runs.
The Pirates have gone 48-68 SU this year and are 56-59 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 11.2 units for gamblers taking the moneyline and 16.5 units ATS. Pittsburgh has covered the spread only twice over its last seven games and the total has gone over in five of those seven. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are 60-55 SU and 57-57 ATS. The team has lost 7.2 units for moneyline bettors and 2.8 units ATS. St. Louis has a 3-4 ATS record over its last seven outings and the under has cashed in five of those seven.
St. Louis games have a 45-60-9 over/under record in 2019. The Pirates have been a solid over bet with a total record of 65-44-6.
The southpaw Steven Brault is the probable starter for the visiting Pirates. Brault is 3-1 with a 4.09 ERA and 59 strikeouts. He’s 0-1 with four strikeouts and an 11.81 ERA against St. Louis this year.
The Cardinals will turn to righty Miles Mikolas (7-12, 3.94 ERA), who’s got 97 punchouts and 22 walks, in addition to a WHIP of 1.22. Mikolas is 2-1 with 17 strikeouts and a 2.67 ERA across four starts against Pittsburgh this year.
As a unit, St. Louis’ pitchers have given up 4.3 runs per game overall in 2019. The team’s starters have an ERA of 4.22, a WHIP of 1.37 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 8.1. The bullpen has a 3.79 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 9.9 K/9. In 48 games against NL Central opponents, Cardinals starters have an ERA of 4.33 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.12.
The St. Louis offense is putting up 4.4 runs per contest, including 4.9 per game against divisional foes and 2.2 per game over its last five. The team has hit .216/.273/.327 over its last five games and is 2-3 SU during that span.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt and shortstop Paul DeJong have led the way for the Cardinals’ batters this year. Goldschmidt is slashing .256/.335/.460 with 25 home runs, 59 RBIs and 69 runs scored, and DeJong’s line is .252/.328/.454 with 19 homers, 53 RBIs and 73 runs.
For the visiting squad, Pittsburgh’s pitching staff allowed 5.5 runs per game and its starters own a 5.23 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 8.37 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.76, along with a K-per-9 of 9.68.
The Pirates offense has slashed .264/.323/.424 on its way to 4.6 runs scored per game this season, including 4.6 runs per game against divisional foes and 3.2 per game over the team’s last five outings (0-5 SU).
Pittsburgh’s hitters have been led by outfielder Starling Marte and first baseman Josh Bell, who have combined to blast 47 home runs. Marte is slashing .284/.326/.498 with 20 home runs, 69 RBIs, 78 runs and 18 steals, while Bell (.280/.364/.574) has produced 27 homers, 89 RBIs and 78 runs scored.
The Pirates have lost 5.2 units and are 44-43 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has cashed in 46 of those games, compared to 36 that’ve gone under against right-handed starting pitchers. On the other hand, the Cardinals have lost 5.5 units and are 9-14 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in 10 of those games, as opposed to 10 that’ve cashed the under.
Pirates at Cardinals Free Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Pirates, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The over has cashed in five of Pittsburgh’s last seven games.
- The Pirates have an OPS of .747 this season and an OPS of .768 against right-handed pitchers. The Cardinals’ OPS stands at .720 overall and .723 versus righties.
- The Pirates have lost eight of their last nine games SU.
- St. Louis has posted 17.8 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 15.4 over its last five.
- The Pirates have hit 11 home runs in their last 10 games. The Cardinals have hit six over their last 10.
