The St. Louis Cardinals will do battle against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. The game will begin at 8:15 p.m. ET and the matchup will be shown on both ATPT and FSMW.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals Odds
Pittsburgh (+160) is the underdog to St. Louis (-170) and Vegas has set the Over/Under for this night game at 8 runs (-115 for the under and -105 for the over). You can also bet on the game’s spread with the most recent runline odds coming in at Pirates +1.5 runs (-135) and Cardinals -1.5 runs (+115).
The Cardinals are 74-58 straight up (SU) and 69-62 against the spread (ATS). They’ve gained 5.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 5.7 units (ATS). St. Louis has covered the spread six times in its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven. The Pirates have gone 64-68 SU this year and are 63-68 ATS. Overall, the team’s lost 3.6 units for moneyline gamblers and 10.0 units ATS. Pittsburgh is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the under has cashed in four of those seven.
St. Louis games have an over/under record of 61-64-6 in 2018. The Pirates have an over/under record of 61-62-8.
Trevor Williams is getting the start for the visiting Pirates. The right-handed Williams (10-9, 3.44 ERA) has racked up 90 punchouts in 136 innings so far. He’s 1-2 with 12 strikeouts and a 5.85 ERA against St. Louis this year (four starts).
The Cardinals are putting the ball in the right hand of Miles Mikolas (13-3, 2.94 ERA), who has 112 strikeouts and 26 walks as well as a 1.09 WHIP. Mikolas is 0-1 with 14 strikeouts and a 3.32 ERA over three starts against Pittsburgh this year.
St. Louis’ pitching staff has yielded 4.1 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. Its starting pitching staff has an ERA of 3.36, a WHIP of 1.22 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 8.1. The bullpen has a 4.24 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 8.1 K/9. In 62 games against divisional foes, Cardinals starters have an ERA of 3.43 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.37.
St. Louis’ offense has produced 4.6 runs per contest, including 4.6 per game against divisional foes and 5.6 per game over its last five. The team has a slash-line of .280/.326/.480 over its last five contests and is 4-1 SU during that stretch.
First baseman Jose Martinez and outfielder Marcell Ozuna have led the way for the Cardinals’ offense this year. Martinez is slashing .309/.366/.476 with 16 home runs, 75 RBIs and 49 runs scored, while Ozuna is hitting .275 with 16 homers, 69 RBIs and 52 runs.
In the other dugout, Pittsburgh’s pitching staff allowed 4.4 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 4.16 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 7.24 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 4.02, along with a K-per-9 of 9.63.
Pirates hitters have slashed .254/.322/.409 on their way to 4.4 runs scored per game in 2018, including 4.6 runs per game against divisional foes and 4.4 per game over the team’s last five contests (1-4 SU).
Outfielders Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte continue to lead Pittsburgh’s hitters. Dickerson is slashing .295/.325/.461 with 11 home runs, 46 RBIs and 53 runs scored, while Marte (.275/.322/.458) is up to 17 homers, 58 RBIs, 66 runs and 29 stolen bases.
The Pirates have gained 4.2 units and are 46-46 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has cashed in 38 of those games, compared to 47 that’ve hit the under against righties. On the other hand, the Cardinals have lost 1.9 units and are 47-45 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over’s hit in 38 of those games, compared to 49 that went under.
Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals Free MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Pirates, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The under has cashed in four of Pittsburgh’s last seven games.
- The Pirates have hit five home runs in their last 10 games, including three over their last five.
- Pittsburgh has posted 19.4 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 23.6 over its last five.
- The Pirates have lost six of their last seven games SU while the Cardinals have won six of their last seven.
