The St. Louis Cardinals (66-62) and Pittsburgh Pirates (47-83) wrap up their four-game series at PNC Park Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze the lines around the Cardinals vs. Pirates odds with MLB picks and predictions.
Cardinals LHP Kwang Hyun Kim (6-6, 3.27 ERA) makes his 20th start and 21st appearance. He has a 1.21 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9 and 6.9 K/9 through 93 2/3 IP.
- Allowed more than 2 ER only once in his last seven starts while posting a 5-1 record and 2.45 ERA. The Cardinals are 6-1 in those games.
- Was expected to work out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season after being activated from the 10-day injured list Aug. 22, but after one relief appearance (2 2/3 IP, 0 ER) is moving back to the starting rotation.
Pirates RHP Wil Crowe (3-7, 5.46 ERA) makes his 20th start and his 21st appearance. He has a 1.58 WHIP, 4.3 BB/9 and 8.5 K/9 through 89 IP.
- Owns the fourth-highest FIP of any pitcher with over 80 IP.
- Is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA over 14 2/3 IP with 15 H, 9 BB and 8 K across three starts against St. Louis.
Cardinals at Pirates odds, lines, picks and prediction
MLB odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 10:20 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Cardinals -170 (bet $170 to win $100) | Pirates +135 (bet $100 to win $135)
- Against the spread/ATS: Cardinals -1.5 (-105) | Pirates +1.5 (-115)
- Over/Under: 8.5 (O: -125 | U: +100)
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Prediction
St. Louis 5, Pittsburgh 2
Money line (ML)
Sunday marks the conclusion of the 19-game season series between the Cardinals and Pirates with St. Louis holding a 12-6 lead, including an 8-1 mark in Pittsburgh.
The Pirates have struggled to hit left-handed pitching all season, although in one previous game against Kim they did find some success. Pittsburgh ranks 29th in wRC+, wOBA and OPS against southpaws.
St. Louis has struggled a bit recently with a 5-5 record over its last 10 games but remains just 3.5 games back of the second Wild Card spot in the NL. This is a game the Cards are going to need to pick up if they hope to keep pace.
BACK ST. LOUIS (-170).
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
Only two of the Cardinals’ 12 victories over the Pirates were by a single run.
I anticipate the Cards getting to Crowe early enough to see a sizable dose of the Pirates bullpen. Pittsburgh’s relievers are in the bottom five in ERA, FIP, xFIP, SIERA and K-BB% through the second half of the season.
With that said I do have some concerns about Kim after the Bucs were able to get to him in his previous start against them, and Pittsburgh is 4-2 ATS in the last six games in this series.
That leaves me with a “LEAN” toward ST. LOUIS -1.5 (-105).
Over/Under (O/U)
There are simply too many trends pulling in different directions for a comfortable pick on this total.
Both pitcher’s O/U records in starts is near .500, both teams situational trends pull in both directions and despite not being able to hit left-handed pitching the Pirates have got to Kim before.
PASS on the total.
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