In a weekend filled with action-packed divisional matchups, the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates will continue that trend as they meet on Saturday evening at PNC Park. It is about that time to check out our MLB odds series, where our Cardinals-Pirates prediction and pick will take place.

 

After downing the Pirates 5-3 on Friday night, the  21-18 Cardinals will try to make it back-to-back versus their rivals in the Pirates as they send out LHP Matthew Liberatore in his MLB debut. At the Triple-A level, Liberatore pitched at least five innings six times and was utterly dominant at times playing for the Memphis Redbirds.

For Pittsburgh, they will look to rebound quickly by countering St. Louis' youth movement with the savvy veteran in southpaw Jose Quintana. The former longtime White Sox and Cubs hurler is 1-1 with a 2.19 ERA in his new gig with the Pirates.

Here are the Cardinals-Pirates MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Cardinals-Pirates Odds

St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+116)

Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-138)

Over: 9 (-110)

Under: 9 (-110)

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Why The Cardinals Could Cover the Spread

With the visiting win on Friday against Pittsburgh, the ‘Cards managed to inch their road record to 11-10, as maintaining a positive record as visitors will do wonders for this team that already has a strong home-field advantage at Busch Stadium. St. Louis scored four times in the fourth inning, as clutch hits from Yadier Molina and Harrison Bader all but put a wrap on the contest in the Steel City. Currently trailing the Brewers by four games in the NL Central, this series versus the Pirates could prove to be a matchup that the Cardinals can make up some serious ground when it comes to the standings.

On offense, St. Louis boasts one of the league's most feared lineups. With the likes of Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt hitting in the heart of the lineup and manning the corners of the infield, it is without a doubt that the Cardinals can put up runs in a hurry.

Throughout the course of their 39 games played, St. Louis has had men cross the plate 177 times, good for eighth-most in the majors. Against a Pirates team that has been fairly subpar pitching-wise, the Cardinals should take advantage of the Pittsburgh arms.

When it comes to their own pitching, the Cardinals have looked the part more times than not, as they have obtained a 3.68 ERA and have been fortunate enough to have their pitchers pitch deep into games with 15 quality starts under their belts. The baseball world will be watching how Liberatore fairs in his first-ever taste of the show, as he shouldn't be presented with too challenging of a task playing within the confines of pitcher-friendly PNC Park.

Why the Pirates Could Cover the Spread

The majority of baseball analysts and experts predicted the Pirates to lose more than 100 games in a season for the second straight year, but the Pirates have managed to stay afloat and are only six games under .500. While few believe that Pittsburgh can make a playoff run in 2022, the Pirates are showing the rest of the league that teams will have to play their best ball when they play them, as they are not to be overlooked.

Facing a rookie on the mound, a storm could be brewing up within the Pirates lineup on Saturday. While weather calls for a 0% chance of rain and an 87-degree day in the city of Pittsburgh, the Pirates will attempt to give Liberatore a rude awakening and make things messy for him on Saturday evening. While the hitting stats tend to predict a different story in-store, the Pirates could cover the spread by overwhelming their pitching counterpart and working up his pitch count in the early going.

As a whole, Pittsburgh has been quite horrendous at the dish to begin 2022, as they have the second-fewest runs at 125 and are only slugging .346.

Pittsburgh's greatest chance at victory may ride on the left arm of Jose Quintana, as the 33-year-old from Colombia has put together a very respectable career. Quintana is certainly not done adding to his accomplishments, as he has not surrendered a single run in his previous two starts. Last Sunday, Quintana pitched in his 10th anniversary in the majors and did not disappoint. In seven shutout innings, the lefty only yielded three hits and struck out five in the 1-0 win over Cincinnati.

Final Cardinals-Pirates Prediction & Pick

Can Liberatore last long enough to hand the reigns to the bullpen in the later frames? If he is able, the Cardinals' arms will be fresh and ready to go in the most crucial times of this matchup. While Quintana has been dealing lately, expect St. Louis to work his pitch count and enforce their will on a shaky Pirates bullpen. This one will be close throughout, but the ‘Cards will tack on some runs late to put this one out of reach.

Final Cardinals-Pirates Pick: Cardinals -1.5 (+116)