Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction MLB Picks 6/13/24

In this article we will formulate a Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals prediction for this MLB game on Thursday, June 13th at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. To formulate this prediction for game three in the series, we will examine:

• The Pirates recent form and recent player performance 
• The Cardinals recent form and recent play performance
• Recent Betting trends and streaks involving Pittsburgh
• Recent Betting trends and streaks involving St. Louis
• Recent betting trends in games played between Pittsburgh and St. Louis
• A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for Today’s Game between Pittsburgh and St. Louis

Pirates are Last in the NL Central

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 32-35 this season and they have won three of their last five games. Pittsburgh won game one in this series by a score of 2-1, but lost on Wednesday night. Prior to this series, the Pirates won two out of three against the Twins, won two out of three against the Dodgers, and lost two out of three against the Blue Jays. Pittsburgh is 5-3 in their last eight games, but they are currently last in the division. 

The Pittsburgh pitching staff has a 3.90 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .243 opponent batting average. The Pirates offense has scored 273 runs with a .229 batting average and a .299 on base percentage. Oneil Cruz is batting .248 with nine home runs and 26 RBI’s for the Pirates this season. Pittsburgh has allowed one run or fewer in three of their last five games. 

Cardinals Looking to Snap Trend

The St. Louis Cardinals are 32-34 this year and they have alternated wins and losses over their last eight games. If that trend were to continue here, the Cardinals would be due for a loss. St. Louis lost game one in this series, but they did win game two by a score of 4-2. Prior to this series, the Cardinals split four games with the Rockies, lost two out of three against the Astros, and lost two out of three against the Phillies. St. Louis is 5-7 in their last 12 games and they are just a half game up on the Pirates. 

The St. Louis pitching staff has a 4.02 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a .247 opponent batting average. The Cardinals offense has scored 259 runs with a .236 batting average and a .307 on base percentage. Nolan Gorman is batting .219 with 15 home runs and 33 RBI’s for the Cardinals this season. St. Louis has scored at least four runs in eight of their last ten games. 

Starting Pitchers

The projected starting pitcher for Pittsburgh is Mitch Keller, who is 8-3 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP over 79.2 innings pitched this year. Keller has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five straight starts and has only allowed four earned runs in those outings. The projected starting pitcher for St. Louis is Lance Lynn, who is 2-3 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP over 65.1 innings pitched this season. Lynn has allowed one earned run or fewer in three of his last four starts, but did allow four earned runs last time out. 

Why the Pittsburgh Pirates will win

The Cardinals have lost each of their last six games against the Pirates following a home win.The Pirates have won seven of their last eight road games against NL Central opponents following a loss.The Pirates have covered the run line in each of their last five games following a road loss.The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last four day games against the Pirates following a win.

Total Runs Facts

Eight of the Cardinals’ last nine day games against NL Central opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.Each of the Pirates’ last four road games against NL Central opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Pirates’ last five road games against National League opponents.The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cardinals’ last four games against NL Central opponents.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction 

Both of these teams come into this game towards the bottom of the NL Central standings, but they are also just one game out of second place, as there are four teams bunched up. Pittsburgh has actually played decently well over the last eight games, but they are just 16-18 on the road. St. Louis continues to hit the ball better than they did to start the season, but they go against Mitch Keller, who has been dominant in recent outings. Lance Lynn has also been pretty solid this season, but I give the edge to Keller. My Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals prediction is for the Pirates to get the win.