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Welcome National League Central fans to an opening day matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals. With both squads looking to start off the 2022 season on the right foot, let's take a sneak peek at our MLB odds series, where our Pirates-Cardinals prediction and pick will be unveiled.
The Pirates enter 2022 with a much-needed blank slate, as last season couldn't have been ruder to Pittsburgh and its fans. The Pirates saw themselves finish the year with a 61-101 record, good for the third-worst worst mark in all of major league baseball. The good news? Pittsburgh has nowhere to go but up after hitting rock bottom in 2021. RHP JT Brubaker will get the first start of the year for the Pirates after seeing his fair share of struggles last season with a 5-13 record and a 5.36 ERA.
Is it 2010 again? After signing Cardinal great Albert Pujols to a one-year deal for one last hurrah in the shades of firebrick and vivid yellow, the Cardinals are taking a trip down memory lane one last time. Not to mention, St. Louis already has 2011 World Series members on the roster in SP Adam Wainwright and C Yadier Molina, two fixtures that are a huge reason for the Cardinals' success over the past decade-plus. The Cardinals come off a stellar campaign in which they clinched an NL Wild Card berth and went 90-72, only five games back of the division-winning Milwaukee Brewers. The 39-year old Wainwright will get the opening day nod on the mound, as his 2021 stats defied the harshness of father time with a 17-7 record and a 3.05 ERA.
Here are the Pirates-Cardinals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Pirates-Cardinals Odds
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-130)
St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+108)
Over: 8 (+104)
Under: 8 (-118)
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Why The Pirates Could Cover the Spread
At first glance of this matchup, the Pirates are heavy underdogs and deservingly so. With the amount of strain that took place in 2021, Pittsburgh will not be many bettor's picks' during the start of the season unless they prove otherwise. However, in a 162-game season, a singular victory can come at any time based on how well or poorly a team plays on that given day. This will have to be the case for Pittsburgh, as they cannot afford to get down early versus a Cardinals squad that has the potential to cause torment on Thursday afternoon.
If the Pirates are going to find a way to cover the spread, they obviously need a decent outing from Brubaker to have any shot. The last thing that Pittsburgh wants to happen is for Brubaker to get shelled early on, leaving an already vulnerable bullpen in charge to pick up the broken pieces. Believe it or not, Brubaker was actually solid in the early going of last season, as he only allowed three or fewer runs in 11 of his first 14 starts before falling off a cliff in the final months of the campaign.
Getting after Wainwright during the beginning stages of this one by making him work deep in counts and even possibly forcing some walks should no doubt increase the likelihood of the Pirates making it a ball game as well. The Pirates were the lowest-scoring team in baseball during 2021, and a repeat of that unproductiveness on Thursday will do more harm than good.
Why The Cardinals Could Cover the Spread
With many returning starters at nearly every position, the Cardinals are looking to step up their game by taking charge of the NL Central, something that eluded them in 2021. St Louis went 46-26 down the stretch proceeding the All-Star break, as it eventually led them to a wild-card berth versus the Dodgers in which they lost in heartbreaking fashion 3-1. The Cardinals would love to avoid a single-elimination postseason game this time out, and they no question have the pieces on their roster to contend in the National League.
No one quite had Pittsburgh's number a year ago like Adam Wainwright, who baffled Pirates hitters by limiting them to a .191 batting average and only allowed one run in 30 innings. Absurdly enough, Wainwright currently has pitched 26 consecutive shutout innings versus the Pirates. It is hard to imagine this trend will change any time soon, as this factor will play a big part in whether or not the Cardinals can take care of business and cover the spread.
Backing up Wainwright will be a more than capable offense that can put up the runs in a hurry. Despite being a middle-of-the-pack hitting wise in 2021 ranking 13th in batting average and 15th in OPS, St Louis should be well off with sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado occupying spots in the heart of the order.
Final Pirates-Cardinals Prediction & Pick
This may be the easiest selection of the day. Even with the new baseball season among us, can the Pirates actually compete and keep this one close versus Wainwright and virtually the same lineup from last year? It's highly doubtful. Wainwright continues his Pirate dominance and puts the Cardinals in the win column for the first time in 2022. St. Louis runs away with this one by at least two runs.
Final Pirates-Cardinals Prediction & Pick: Cardinals -1.5 (+108)
