The St. Louis Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night! It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Pirates-Cardinals prediction and pick.
The Cardinals and Pirates played a double-header on Tuesday and the Cardinals took care of business. Paul Goldschmidt and the Red Birds won 3-1 in the first game and then dominated in a 9-1 victory in Game 2. Goldy smashed three home runs and finished with eight RBIs. It's clear he is the NL MVP favorite right now as he doesn't seem to be slowing down at all. The Pirates will hope to try and sneak a win in this series as both teams get a day off tomorrow.
Here are the Pirates-Cardinals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Pirates-Cardinals Odds
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-142)
St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+118)
Over: 8.5 (-118)
Under: 8.5 (-104)
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Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread
The Pirates will send out right-hander Roansy Contreras who is actually pitching rather nicely on the season. Contreras is (1-1) with a 2.57 ERA in 28 innings on the year. He didn't pitch great against the Atlanta Braves last time out but only allowed three runs in his previous four starts. If he can pitch at least five strong innings today, then the Pirates will have a chance. However, the Cardinals are on a roll right now.
The Pirates were almost no-hit last night as Mike Mikolas was one strike away from history. Cal Mitchell came up clutch with a ground-rule double over the head of Harrison Bader, ending the bid. Mikolas left to a standing ovation as the Cardinals climb up the standings.
The Pirates' offense is really led by two players, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds. The Bryan duo is showing signs that they are capable of leading a team, however, the rest of the lineup is very inconsistent. Michael Chavis is putting together a solid campaign with six homers and 22 RBIs but there isn't anyone else who can put up consistent numbers.
The good news for the Pirates in this matchup is that they are facing a starter who is making his season debut. They will hope to attack him early.
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
The Cardinals were very close to history last night but it wasn't meant to be. They will surely take the 9-1 win and the chance with a sweep on Wednesday.
Toeing the slab for the Red Birds is former ace, Jack Flaherty. Flaherty is scheduled to make his season debut and it comes against a favorable team in the Pirates. With the offense likely to support him, Flaherty could get on track very early into his campaign. The right-hander has been out all season and part of last season recovering from a shoulder injury.
Goldschmidt is playing on another level right now. His .349 batting average is 2nd in the majors and his 1.073 OPS tops the MLB right now. He's also tied for 6th with 16 home runs and third in RBIs with 56. It's hard to have a better start to a season than he is having. Nolan Arenado is also playing well hitting .271 with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs. With Tyler O'Neill back and Tommy Edman playing solid baseball, this team is very scary. Yadier Molina continues to define time along with this two veteran teammates Albert Pujols and Adam Wainwright. Those three are crucial to the team's success.
Final Pirates-Cardinals Prediction & Pick
The Cardinals should have no issue covering this spread once again. It will depend on how far Flaherty could go but I would assume the offense will be hot.
Final Pirates-Cardinals Prediction & Pick: Cardinals -1.5 (+118)
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