Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction MLB Picks 9/19/24

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Thursday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. Here’s a Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals prediction. This will be the final installment in a four-game series. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Pirates vs Cardinals pick. We will examine:

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ recent form and player performance

The St. Louis Cardinals’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Pittsburgh Pirates

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the St. Louis Cardinals

Recent betting trends in games played between the Pirates and Cardinals

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Pirates vs Cardinals game

Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Preview

Over the weekend the Pirates played the Kansas City Royals. Pittsburgh lost the first two games in that set before a 4-3 win Sunday. After losses 4-0 and 3-1 to the Cardinals, on Wednesday Pittsburgh fell again 10-5.

In the starter slot for the finale, the Pirates are going with Luis Ortiz. This year Ortiz is 6-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 35 games (13 starts). In his career, Ortiz is 11-13 with a 4.03 ERA in 57 games (32 starts). the Pirates will face the Reds following this series.

St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview

Over on the Cardinals’ side, they played the Toronto Blue Jays in their last set. St. Louis lost all three of those games 4-3, 7-2, and 3-2. On Wednesday the Cards posted 14 hits and six runs in the seventh inning alone.

Erick Fedde will start for the Cardinals on Thursday. This season Fedde is 8-9 with a 3.45 ERA in 29 starts. Fedde is 29-42 with a 4.89 ERA in 131 career games (117 starts).

Total Runs Facts

• Six of the Cardinals’ last seven night games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• Four of the Pirates’ last five games have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cardinals’ last 12 games as favorites against NL Central opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Pirates’ last nine night games at Busch Stadium.

St. Louis Cardinals Player Prop Facts

• Nolan Arenado has recorded an RBI in seven of the Cardinals’ last eight night games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
• Brendan Donovan has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Cardinals’ last five home games against the Pirates.
• Masyn Winn has scored at least one run in six of his last seven appearances with the Cardinals as home favorites.
• Masyn Winn has recorded at least one Single in 10 of his last 12 appearances against NL opponents at Busch Stadium.
• Brendan Donovan has recorded at least one hit in each of his 17 previous appearances against the Pirates at Busch Stadium.
• Willson Contreras has hit a home run in each of his last two appearances at Busch Stadium against NL opponents that held a losing record.

Pittsburgh Pirates Player Prop Facts

• Bryan De La Cruz has hit a home run in two of his last three appearances with his team as an underdog against the Cardinals.
• Bryan De La Cruz has scored a run in five of his last six appearances with his team as an underdog against the Cardinals.
• Bryan Reynolds has recorded a Single in eight of the Pirates’ last nine games as road underdogs against the Cardinals.
• Rowdy Tellez has recorded at least one total base in each of his last six appearances against NL opponents that held a winning record.
• Bryan Reynolds has recorded a hit in each of the Pirates’ last nine games as road underdogs against the Cardinals.
• Oneil Cruz has recorded an RBI in four of his last five appearances against NL opponents.

Matchup/League Facts

• The St. Louis Cardinals rank 24th in the league for strikeouts this season (1238).
• The St. Louis Cardinals rank T23rd in the league for home runs this season (156).
• The Pittsburgh Pirates rank 26th in the league for on-base percentage this season (.302).
• The Pittsburgh Pirates rank 26th in the league for strikeouts against this season (1411).

Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction

I’ll lean toward the Cardinals. Probably not touching this one though. Neither starter has been that great lately. Fedde is 0-2 in his last three with eight earned runs in 15.0 innings total. As for Ortiz, he’s 0-2 over his last pair with seven earned in 9.2 innings on 11 hits and four walks.

On Wednesday the Cardinals blew an early 4-0 lead but were able to come back with a wild seventh inning. St. Louis needs much more consistency on Thursday.