Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction MLB Picks 9/17/24

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Tuesday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. Here’s a Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals prediction. This will be the second 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

In their last set, the Pirates took on the Kansas City Royals. Pittsburgh lost their first two games but stopped the sweep with a 4-3 win in the finale. On Monday in the opener versus the Cardinals, the Pirates took a 4-0 shutout loss. Paul Skenes posted 6.0 innings with one earned run as a starter.

It’ll be Bailey Falter in the starter role for the Pirates on Tuesday. This year Falter is 8-7 with a 4.20 ERA in 25 starts. Over 85 career games (56 starts) Falter is 18-21 with a 4.54 ERA.

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 Monday the Cards scored two in the eighth to ice the victory. Andre Pallante logged 7.0 clean frames in the starting role.

Lance Lynn will start for the Cardinals on Tuesday. This year so far Lynn is 6-4 with a 3.96 ERA in 22 starts. Lynn is 142-99 with a 3.75 career ERA in 363 games (339 starts).

Why the St. Louis Cardinals will win

• The Cardinals have won six of their last seven home games after playing the previous day.
• The Pirates have lost four of their last five games at Busch Stadium.
• The Pirates have failed to cover the run line in each of their last four games.
• The Cardinals have covered the run line in four of their last five games against teams that held a losing record
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Why the Pittsburgh Pirates will win

• The Pirates have won nine of their last 10 games as underdogs against NL Central opponents following a road loss.
• The Cardinals have lost each of their last five games as favorites against the Pirates following a home win.
• The Pirates have covered the run line in each of their last eight night games against NL Central opponents following a road loss.
• The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven games as favorites against the Pirates following a win.

Total Runs Facts

• Each of the Cardinals’ last five night games after playing the previous day has gone UNDER the total runs line.
• Five of the Pirates’ last six night games as underdogs have gone OVER the total runs line.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cardinals’ last 10 games as favorites against NL Central opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Pirates’ last seven night games at Busch Stadium.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction

I’m going to try the Cardinals here. Lynn is doing pretty well on the mound right now. In his last three starts combined Lynn is 1-0 with just two earned runs in 15.0 combined innings. As for Falter, he’s coming off 7.1 clean innings in a win over Miami but had seven earned in 9.0 frames during his two previous starts.

On Monday the Cardinals got a brilliant pitching effort from Pallante and the bullpen (2.0 innings; no hits; no walks; three Ks). The bats were solid as well, especially after Skenes left. I like St. Louis to keep it rolling on Tuesday.