The Pittsburgh Pirates (28-27) welcome the St. Louis Cardinals (25-32) to PNC Park Friday for a 3-game series. First pitch in the opener is set for 7:05 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Cardinals vs. Pirates odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Tied 2-2
The Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1 Tuesday, splitting the 2-game series. St. Louis is 4-4 in its last 8 games and the Cards are 13-16 on the road this season.
The Pirates are 12-13 at home. They are 4-6 over their last 10 games and coming off a 9-4 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. Pittsburgh is 4 games ahead of St. Louis in the NL Central; the Pirates are 1/2 game back of the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
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Cardinals at Pirates projected starters
RHP Jack Flaherty vs. RHP Roansy Contreras
Flaherty (3-4, 4.81 ERA) makes his 12th start. He has a 1.53 WHIP, 5.3 BB/9 and 9.0 K/9 in 58 innings.
- Coming off a 7-inning 2-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on May 27; has pitched 7 innings in 2 of his last 3 starts
- Cardinals are 4-1 in his last 5 starts despite him allowing 17 ER in those appearances
Contreras (3-4, 4.33 ERA) makes his 10th start. He has a 1.38 WHIP, 4.0 BB/9 and 6.2 K/9 in 52 innings.
- Pirates have lost 5 straight games in which he’s pitched, and are 4-6 in games he has appeared this season
- Pitched 2 innings with 0 ER and a K in a 6-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday
Cardinals at Pirates odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:15 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Cardinals -140 (bet $140 to win $100) | Pirates +115 (bet $100 to win $115)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals -1.5 (+120) | Pirates +1.5 (-145)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Cardinals at Pirates picks and predictions
Prediction
Pirates 6, Cardinals 5
Moneyline
TAKE PIRATES (+115).
St. Louis is 1 of 8 MLB teams this season to have a sub-.500 win percentage as favorites, going just 15-19 when favored this season. Couple that with Flaherty, who hasn’t pitched well as of late, and the plus-money Pirates look like a good play.
Pittsburgh is 14-13 after a win as well while St. Louis is 9-15 following a victory. Take the PIRATES (+115).
Run line/Against the spread
PASS.
I like the Pirates here, and there is better value taking them on the moneyline than on the run line given the juice.
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Over/Under
LEAN OVER 9.5 (-105).
The Cardinals are 28-28-1 O/U this season and 5-6 O/U in their last 11 games. In Flaherty’s last 4 starts against a team with a winning record, the Over is 4-0, so he hasn’t performed well against top sides.
The Pirates are 3-1 O/U in their last 4 games as well. Contreras isn’t their ace either, so both pitchers are prone to giving up runs. Take the OVER 9.5 (-105).
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