St. Louis Cardinals (74-74) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (70-78)
Game Info: Monday, September 16, 2024 at 7:45 pm (Busch Stadium)
The Line: Betting Odds: St. Louis Cardinals +129 / Pittsburgh Pirates -140 — Over/Under: 7
The Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Monday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. Here’s a Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals prediction. This will be the first 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 took on the Kansas City Royals. Pittsburgh lost the first two installments of that set, then on Sunday the Pirates were able to fend off the sweep with a 4-3 win.
In the starter slot for the Pirates on Monday it’ll be Paul Skenes. In the first 20 starts of his rookie campaign, Skenes is 10-2 with a 2.10 ERA. He’s got 151 Ks in 120.0 innings total.
St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview
Over on the Cardinals’ side, they played the Toronto Blue Jays in their weekend set. St. Louis lost the first pair as well 4-3 and 7-2. On Sunday the Cards took a tough loss 3-2. Miles Mikolas went 5.0 innings with two earned runs in the start.
Andre Pallante will start for the Cardinals on Monday. This year Pallante is 6-8 with a 4.13 ERA in 26 games (17 starts). Pallante is 16-14 with a 3.91 ERA in 135 games (27 starts). The Cards will face the Guardians following this series.
Why the St. Louis Cardinals will win
- The Pirates have lost each of their last six games against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium following a home win.
- The Cardinals have won six of their last seven games as underdogs against NL Central opponents following a road loss.
- The Cardinals have covered the run line in each of their last six games as home underdogs against NL Central opponents.
- The Pirates have failed to cover the run line each of their last four games at Busch Stadium against teams that held a losing record.
Why the Pittsburgh Pirates will win
- The Cardinals have lost seven of their last eight night games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Pirates have won each of their last four games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line each of their last six night games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- The Pirates have covered the run line in nine of their last 10 road games against teams that held a losing record.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Cardinals’ last four night games after playing the previous day has gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Five of the Pirates’ last six games against NL Central opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last nine night games between the Pirates and Cardinals.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Pirates’ last six games at Busch Stadium.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction
I might try the Pirates. Some of that is due to Pallante’s last couple of starts. In that pair, he gave up eight earned on 11 hits and 10 walks in 10.0 combined innings. Pallante did finish out August with a decent start (5.2 innings; two earned) versus the Padres, though.
On Sunday the Pirates had a fairly middling offensive outing outside of Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s three hits, two runs, and RBI. Pittsburgh also used quite a few bullpen arms. That said, with Skenes (2-0 and one earned in 11.0 innings over his last pair) on the mound Monday Pittsburgh should have a great shot at a win.