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The Pittsburgh Pirates (7-5) take on the St. Louis Cardinals (5-7) as they begin a four game series Thursday night at Busch Stadium. This game will continue our MLB odds series with a Pirates-Cardinals prediction and pick. We will also let you know how to watch the game.
The Pirates are coming off a series loss against the Houston Astros. In the series, Ji-Man Choi had three hits and they were all for extra bases. Two of those hits were home runs. In the game the Pirates won, Ji-Hwan Bae hit a walk-off three-run home run. The Pirates have an early hold on second place in the division, but there is still a lot of baseball left to play.
The Cardinals are coming off a series win in Colorado. Rookie of the Year candidate Jordan Walker has started the season on a 12 game hit streak and he is turning out to be a huge asset to the St. Louis lineup. Paul Goldschmidt had five hits in the series to lead the team. Tyler O'Neill, Nolan Gorman, Tommy Edman and Nolan Arenado each had three hits and a home run in Colorado with Gorman homering twice. Juan Yepez also homered in the one game he played. The Cardinals are off to a slow start to the season, but they can turn that around with a good series against Pittsburgh.
This will be the first of 13 games between the two teams.
Here are the Pirates-Cardinals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Pirates-Cardinals Odds
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (+106)
St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (-128)
Over: 8.5 (-115)
Under: 8.5 (-105)
How To Watch Pirates vs. Cardinals
TV: Bally Sports Midwest, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
Stream: MLB TV Subscription
Time: 7:40 PM ET/4:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread
Pittsburgh will need a big offensive game if they want to keep this game close. Cardinals pitchers have been struggling this season. St. Louis has the 11th worst ERA with a 4.89 and their starting pitchers only have one quality start in 12 games. The Cardinals 1.54 WHIP is fourth worst in the MLB and their .292 oppenent batting average is the highest in baseball. Pittsburgh will have a solid chance to create offense throughout this whole series.
Bryan Reynolds, Carlos Santana and Andrew McCutchen are the only players on the Pirates with double digit hits at this point in the season. The Pirates will need these three players to lead the offense in this game. If they can get hot, the Pirates will keep this game close and cover the spread.
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
The Cardinals are going up against Vince Velasquez in this game. Velasquez has not pitched well this season. In 7 1/3 innings this season, Velasquez has allowed 11 hits, eight runs and walked four. The Cardinals can put up some runs in this game if their offense can stay locked in. St. Louis is third in the MLB in batting average, tied for eighth in home runs, and fifth in hits. As long as the Cardinals stick to their approach, they will put up a lot of runs.
Six players in the Cardinals lineup have double digit hits and they are all hitting above .280. Nolan Gorman leads the way with four home runs while Arenado, Walker, O'Neill and Brendan Donovan all have two. The Cardinals lineup is scary good and that should continue through this game.
Final Pirates-Cardinals Prediction & Pick
Just from a pitching matchup standpoint, the Cardinals should be able to have a great game. Expect the home team to win this game by a comfortable margin.
Final Pirates-Cardinals Prediction & Pick: Cardinals -1.5 (-128), Over 8.5 (-115)
