Rookie phenom Paul Skenes takes the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they visit the St. Louis Cardinals. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Pirates-Cardinals prediction and pick.

Pirates-Cardinals Projected Starters 

Paul Skenes vs. Miles Mikolas

Paul Sekens (3-0) with a 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP

Last Start: Last time out, Paul Skenes went five innings, giving up six hits and a walk. He did strike out eight, but two of the six hits were home runs as he gave up three runs in a win over the Dodgers.

2024 Road Splits: Paul Skenes has been great on the road this year. He has made two starts, winning both of them. In those two starts opponents have hit just .079 against him, as he has a 1.50 ERA, and Skenes has struck out 20 on the road.

Miles Mikolas (4-6) with a 5.32 ERA and 1.28 WHIP

Last Start: Last time out, Mikolas went six innings, giving up five hits and striking out three. Two of the five hits were home runs, as he gave up two runs in the game, taking the win over the Astros.

2024 Home Splits: Mikolas has made five starts at home this year. He has a 5.81 ERA at home this year and gone 0-2. Opponents have hit .280 against Mikolas at home this year.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Pirates-Cardinals Odds

Pittsburgh Pirates: -1.5 (+134)

Moneyline: -130

St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-162)

Moneyline: -200

Over: 7.5 (-108)

Under: 7.5 (-112)

How to Watch Pirates vs. Cardinals

Time: 7:45 PMET/ 4:45 PM PT

TV: SNP/BSMW

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Pirates Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Pirates are 20th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting 23rd in batting average, 24th in on-base percentage, and 26th in slugging percentage. Bryan Reynolds has been great this year. He is hitting .262 on the year with 15 doubles and eight home runs. This has led to 35 RBIs as he has scored 25 times. Meanwhile, Connor Joe leads the team in scoring this year. He is hitting .263 on the year with a .338 on-base percentage. While hitting 14 doubles and seven home runs, Joe has scored 36 times. He also has driven in 27 runs. Rounding out the top bats on the year is Andrew McCutchen, McCutchen is hitting just .238, but leads the team with a .339 on-base percentage. He has eight home runs and 20 RBIS, plus has scored 32 times on the year.

Nick Gonzales has been on first in the last week. He is hitting .318 in the last week, with a double and a home run. This has led to seven RBIs and two runs scored. Oneil Cruz has also been playing well. He is hitting .263 with two home runs and five RBIs. Cruz has also scored four times. Rounding out the top bats in the last week is Bryan Reynolds. He is hitting .346 over the last week with three RBIs. Reynolds has also scored four times.

Current members of the Pirates have 119 at-bats against Miles Mikolas. They have hit .286 against him with a .303 on-base percentage. Ke'Bryan Hayes has been great against Mikolas. He has eight hits in 16 at-bats with a double and a triple. Meanwhile, Bryan Reynolds is 12-33 with a walk. He has four doubles and four RBIs against Mikolas.

Why The Cardinals Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Cardinals are 26th in the majors in runs scored this year while sitting 18th in batting average, 20th in on-base percentage, and 23rd in slugging. Nolan Gorman has led the way this year. He is hitting .223 on the year with a .308 on-base percentage. He has 14 home runs and eight doubles. Gorman also has 32 RBIS and 29 home runs. Nolan Arenado has also been great. He is hitting .252 on the year with six home runs and 30 RBIS. He has scored 23 times. Leading the team in batting this year is Masyn Winn. Winn is hitting .306 this year with a .355 on-base percentage. He has three home runs and 12 doubles, good for 23 RBIs. Winn has also scored 22 times and stolen eight bases.

Winn has also been hitting well over the last week.  He is hitting .346 over the last week. with a home run and four RBIs. Further, he has scored three times. Also coming in hot is Alec Burleson. Burleson is hitting .276 in the last week, with three home runs and four RBIs. He has scored five times. Also slugging well as of late is Nolan Gorman. Gorman is hitting just .222 in the last week but has three home runs, four RBIs, and four runs scored.

Final Pirates-Cardinals Prediction & Pick

While the Cardinals have more players hitting well as of late, this game will come down to pitching. Miles Mikolas has not been consistent and will give up plenty of runs in this one. Paul Skenes has been great in his first year in the majors. The Pirates have lost just one game with him on the mound this year. In that game, he went six innings and gave up just one run, but the bullpen gave up six runs and the Pirates lost. The Cardinals do not have the offense to make that comeback against a bullpen, so take the Pirates in this one.

Click here for more betting news and predictions

Final Pirates-Cardinals Prediction & Pick: Pirates ML  (-130)