The St. Louis Cardinals (81-57) take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (50-86) Friday in the 1st game of a 3-game set at PNC Park. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Cardinals vs. Pirates odds with MLB picks and predictions.
Season series: Cardinals lead 8-2
The Cardinals’ bullpen reared its inconsistent head in Thursday’s 11-6 drubbing by the Washington Nationals, who split the 4-game series with the Cards. St. Louis is still 7-3 in the last 10 games and 21-9 in the last 30.
Pittsburgh has lost 4 of 6 as they were blanked 10-0 Wednesday by the New York Mets. The Bucs are 3-7 in the last 10 and a miserable 7-23 in the last 30 games. The Pirates are a little bit better at home with 27 wins and just 23 on the road. They have one of their bright prospects on the bump today.
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Cardinals at Pirates projected starters
RHP Miles Mikolas vs. RHP Roansy Contreras
Mikolas (11-10, 3.32 ERA) makes his 29th start. He has a 1.01 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9 and 6.5 K/9 in 176 1/3 IP.
- Coming off 8 shutout IP with 2 H, 1 BB and 3 K against the Chicago Cubs Sept. 4
- Has made 2 starts vs. Pirates this year: 1-0, 1.46 ERA, 12 1/3 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Contreras (4-4, 3.41 ERA) makes his 14th start. He has a 1.31 WHIP, 4.0 BB/9 and 8.5 K/9 in 74 IP.
- Last 2 starts: 11 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 4 BB and 12 K
- June 15 vs. Cardinals: 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Cardinals at Pirates odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:10 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Cardinals -205 (bet $205 to win $100) | Pirates +165 (bet $100 to win $165)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals -1.5 (-117)| Pirates +1.5 (-103)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: +105 | U: -130)
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Cardinals at Pirates picks and predictions
Prediction
Cardinals 5, Pirates 2
Money line
The Cards’ offense has been pretty productive with 6 games of at least 5 runs in the last 10. Contreras was good against them in his 1st start, but the Cards got to him in the 5th inning, which muddied his line. I look for a competitive game. If the Cards get him out of the game by the 7th, they’ll get to the Pirates’ pen, which is 4th-worst in baseball with a 4.64 ERA. The Cards’ ML is too expensive, but the CARDINALS FIRST 9 INNINGS (-165) is at a tolerable rate.
Run line/Against the spread
Of the Cards’ 8 wins against the Bucs this year, 7 have been by 2 or more runs. St. Louis’ top relievers didn’t pitch Thursday and will be ready to go. However, Mikolas has gone into the 7th inning in 4 of 5 starts. Take the CARDINALS -1.5 (-117).
Over/Under
Even though the Cards have been scoring, they are just 4-5-1 O/U in the last 10 games. The Over is trending in this series at 4-1-1 the last 6 games. The number was steamed up to 8.5 this morning, and that’s just enough leverage for the Under to sneak by. LEAN UNDER 8.5 (-130).
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