Pirates vs Cardinals Prediction & MLB Odds For Monday, September 16th

Monday’s matchup between the Pirates and Cardinals has a first pitch set for 7:45 PM ET from Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Cardinals are the slight underdog on the money line (+119), while the Pirates are favored (-140). The over/under line is currently at 7 runs.

SN PT will be televising this NL Central matchup, and Paul Skenes will be starting for the Pirates, while the Cardinals are going with Andre Pallante. The Pirates are 71-78, while the Cardinals are 74-75 and are looking to snap a three-game losing streak.

Betting Odds & Lines for this Game

• Spread: Pirates -1.5 (+122) | Cardinals 1.5 (-148)
• Total: 7
• MoneyLine: Pirates -140 | Cardinals +119

All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)

Pirates vs. Cardinals Prediction: Moneyline

The Pirates’s offense was hot right out of the gates in their most recent game vs. the Royals, closing out their series with a 4-3 win. After allowing one run to the Royals in the top of the first, the Pirates responded with a run of their own. Pittsburgh went on to add another three runs in the 2nd inning.

Jared Jones got the start for the Pirates, going four innings and giving up just two runs on six hits. He only had three strikeouts in the outing and issued the loss. The Pirates’s bullpen was excellent, though, as they didn’t give up a run over the final five innings. Aroldis Chapman closed things out in the 9th, picking up the save.

Pittsburgh is 5th in the NL Central, trailing the Reds by just one game for the 4th spot in the division. Overall, the Pirates are 71-78 and trail the Brewers by 15 games in the division. They will take on the Cardinals today, with the Pirates 22-20 against other NL Central teams this year.

At home, the Pirates are 38-40 compared to 33-38 on the road. As the road favorite, the Pirates have gone 11-6 this year, and they are 34-27 overall as the favorite. So far, they have struggled as the underdog, going 37-51.

Lars Nootbaar had a big game at the plate in the Cardinals’ 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays. He went 2/4 with a homer and scored both of the Cardinals’ runs. However, the Cardinals couldn’t come up with a big hit late in the game, and St. Louis’s bullpen took the loss. The Cardinals were the +107 underdog going into this road game.

Miles Mikolas started for the Cardinals, going five innings and giving up two runs on three hits. He only had four strikeouts in the outing and took the loss. Andrew Kittredge was charged with the loss out of the bullpen, as the Cardinals couldn’t hold onto their lead in the 7th inning.

St. Louis is 74-75 overall and trails the Brewers by 12 games in the NL Central. The Cardinals lost three straight games to the Blue Jays in their most recent series. So far, they are 23-25 against other teams in the NL Central.

At home, the Cardinals are 39-35 this season and 35-40 on the road. As the home underdog, the Cardinals have gone 14-10 this year, and they are 39-40 as the underdog overall. St. Louis has won two straight games at home, and their overall series record is 23-20-5 this year.

Pirates vs. Cardinals Prediction: Over/Under

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals today, and the over/under line is set at 7 runs. The Pirates have a combined run average of 8.8 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 73-74. Their games have averaged 8 runs per game this season, and when the line has been set at 7 runs, their over/under record is 4-2-1. The over has hit in 93.3% of their games this season when the line has been set at 7 runs, and they are currently on a 2-game under streak.

Heading into today’s game, the Pirates are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 20th in the league. They have been a bit better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game, but their home run numbers are among the worst in the league. As a team, they are batting just .236 and have the 23rd ranked slugging percentage in the league.

Bryan Reynolds has been the Pirates’ top hitter this season, batting .282 with a team-high 22 home runs and 85 RBIs. He is also on a six-game hitting streak and has gone 10/23 in his last six games. Andrew McCutchen has also been a solid power threat, with 20 homers, but he is batting just .237 for the season and has gone 4/17 in his last five games.

Oddsmakers are expecting a low-scoring affair in St. Louis tonight, as the O/U line is set at just 7 runs. The Cardinals and Pirates have combined for an average of 8.6 runs per game this season, and the O/U record for St. Louis games is 70-75. The average O/U line for Cardinals games this season has been 8 runs, and when the line has been set at 7 runs, the O/U record is 2-2-2. This season, 96.0% of Cardinals games have had O/U lines set at more than 7 runs.

Heading into today’s game, the Cardinals are 25th in the league in runs per game, averaging just 4.1 runs per contest. They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.2 runs per game. As a team, they are batting a collective .246, which is 12th in the league, and their team on-base percentage of .309 is 15th in the league.

St. Louis has two players with over 20 home runs this season, with Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt both having gone deep 21 times. Burleson also leads the team with 73 RBIs, while Goldschmidt is 4th on the team with 59 RBIs. Brendan Donovan and Masyn Winn are also key parts of the lineup, with Donovan batting .270 and Winn at .271. Both players have 12 and 13 homers, respectively.

Pirates vs. Cardinals Prediction: Spread

The Pirates have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 81-68. They have been especially good on the road, going 43-28. They have been a better bet as an underdog, going 57-31 on the run line. In wins, they have an average run margin of 3.2, while in losses, it’s -3.6.

Right-hander Paul Skenes gets the start for the Pirates today as he faces the Cardinals on the road. Skenes has made 20 starts this season and has a record of 10-2 to go along with a 2.10 ERA. So far, he has turned in 14 quality starts and is averaging 11.32 strikeouts per nine innings. Looking back at his most recent outing, Skenes went six innings, giving up one earned run, and picking up the win. He has won each of his last three starts. Skenes’ ERA on the road is 1.5 compared to 2.72 at home.

When betting the run line with the Cardinals, it’s been a good idea to take them as the underdog, as they are 51-28 against the run line in those games. They have been a favorite in 70 games and are just 23-47 against the run line in those contests. Their overall run line record is 74-75, with an average run margin of -0.4 runs per game.

Right-hander Andre Pallante gets the start for the Cardinals today as he faces the Pirates at home. Pallante has made 17 starts this year and has a record of 6-8 with an ERA of 4.13. So far, he has turned in five quality starts and is averaging 6.77 strikeouts per nine innings. In his last outing, Pallante took the loss, giving up three earned runs in five innings of work. Before that, he had given up at least two homers in three straight outings. Pallante has allowed a total of eight homers at home compared to five on the road.

Pirates vs. Cardinals Pick: Cardinals ML +119

Our predicted final score for this one is 5-4 in favor of the Cardinals, which is why we are recommending taking them on the money line at +119. With the payout being close to even, this is a great way to maximize your potential payout.

If you’re looking for a prediction on the over/under, we would take the over, as we have this game finishing with a combined nine runs and the line is sitting at seven.