The St. Louis Cardinals (44-40) travel to face off against the Pittsburgh Pirates (40-44) on Wednesday, July 3rd. This game will be played at PNC Park in Pittsburgh and televised on BSMW. The Cardinals are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Pirates are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Cardinals. First pitch is set for 5:40 CT.
Cardinals vs. Pirates Betting Prediction
- Money Line Prediction: Pirates (-127)
- Over/Under Prediction: Over 8 Runs
- The Pirates have scored an average of 4.6 runs per game in their last 5 home games.
- The Pirates have won 3 out of their last 5 home games.
- The Pirates have a higher home win percentage (47.5%) compared to the Cardinals’ away win percentage (47.6%).
- The Pirates have won 2 out of 3 head-to-head games against the Cardinals in their last series.
- The Pirates have a better run differential (+3) in their last 5 home games compared to the Cardinals’ run differential (-2) in their last 5 away games.
Cardinals vs Pirates
It was all St. Louis in the last game of this series, as the Cardinals took down the Pirates by a score of 7-4. The Cardinals offense only had two more hits than the Pirates and struck out 12 times, but still picked up a convincing win. Heading into the game, they were at +106 on the money line.
Pittsburgh wasted a good outing from Mitch Keller, as he gave up just two hits and two earned runs in five innings of work for the Pirates. Kyle Gibson got the win for the Cardinals, going five innings and giving up four earned runs.
Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson each homered for the Cardinals, while Brendan Donovan went 3/4 with an RBI. Paul Goldschmidt and Masyn Winn each had two hits and an RBI.
St. Louis is currently on a two-game winning streak and has a 44-40 overall record. They are 12-11 in divisional games and trail the Brewers by six games in the NL Central. The Cardinals have a 7-3 record in their last 10 games and are winning their series against the Pirates 1-0.
On the run line, the Cardinals have a 27-16 record as underdogs, contributing to their 43-41 overall run line record. The average run total in their games this season is 8.4, and their over/under record is 37-44. So far, 51.2% of their games have had over/under lines higher than 8 runs.
Miles Mikolas Gets The Start For The Cardinals
Right-hander Miles Mikolas is getting the start for the Cardinals today as he faces off against the Pirates on the road. So far this season, he has made 17 starts and has a record of 6-7 with an ERA of 5.32. Looking at his overall numbers, Mikolas has a WHIP of 1.25 and has issued just 1.71 walks per nine innings compared to 6.46 strikeouts. Mikolas has made nine quality starts this year and is coming off a rough outing vs. the Reds, where he gave up nine earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Before that, he had won two straight starts.
Cardinals Offense Breakdown
For the season, the Cardinals are averaging just 4 runs per game, which is 26th in the MLB. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and have a team batting average of just .240. One thing that has been working in their favor is their collective BABIP of .29, which is 9th in the league. Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson have been two of the Cardinals’ top hitters this season, with Donovan leading the team with 42 RBIs and Burleson’s 13 homers being the 2nd most in the league.
Both Donovan and Burleson have been swinging the bat well of late, with Burleson going 12/37 in his last 10 games, and Donovan has gone 13/36 in that stretch. Ivan Herrera and Lars Nootbaar are both looking to extend their hitting streaks, as Herrera has hit in five straight games, while Nootbaar has a hit in four straight.
As underdogs, the Pirates have been a good bet on the run line, covering in 34 of 50 games. However, they have struggled as favorites, going just 11-23 against the run line. Overall, Pittsburgh is 26-18 on the run line on the road and 19-21 at home.
Pittsburgh is 40-44 for the season and are 10 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. They are 4 games behind the Cardinals, who are in 2nd place in the division. The Pirates have a 12-12 record in divisional games and have lost two in a row heading into today’s game against St. Louis.
Jared Jones Gets The Start For The Pirates
Jared Jones gets the start for the Pirates today and will look to build off his last outing, where he gave up just two earned runs in seven innings of work. In that outing vs. the Rays, he gave up three homers. Looking back over his last four outings, Jones has allowed at least one homer in each. For the season, he has made 15 starts, and opponents have a batting average of .215 vs. Jones. His ERA for the season is 3.66, along with a record of 5-6. Jones’ WHIP for the season is 1.10.
Pirates Offense Breakdown
Heading into today’s game, the Pirates are averaging just 4 runs per game, which is 25th in the league. They have been even worse at home, putting up just 3.8 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting just .227 and have the league’s 18th ranked home run total. Pittsburgh’s team OPS of .655 is also one of the worst in the MLB.
Bryan Reynolds has been the Pirates’ top offensive player this season, leading the team with 46 RBIs and 13 home runs, which is 14th in the league. His batting average of .271 is also the 2nd best mark on the team. Oneil Cruz and Andrew McCutchen are also tied for 2nd on the team with 12 homers apiece. McCutchen has gone just 3/20 in his last five games.
Cardinals vs Pirates Prediction
Our predictions for today’s Cardinals vs. Pirates game is to take the Pirates on the money line, with the payout being -127. We have the Pirates winning this one by a final score of 5-4.
Looking at some of the starting pitcher’s projections, Jared Jones is projected to finish with four strikeouts, which is better than Miles Mikolas, who we have finishing with just four K’s. Jones is also projected to give up fewer hits than Mikolas.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.
Last updated:July 3, 2024 Cardinals, Pirates