Pirates vs Cardinals Prediction & MLB Odds For Thursday, September 19th

At 7:15 PM ET, the Pirates and Cardinals face off in an NL Central matchup. This one is taking place at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and the Cardinals are favored on the money line (-139). The money line odds for a Pirates win are sitting at +119, and they are 5th in the NL Central with a record of 71-81.

Thursday’s forecast in St. Louis calls for clear skies and temperatures in the upper 80s. The over/under line is at 8 runs, and the game can be seen on BSMW. Luis L. Ortiz is starting for the Pirates, while the Cardinals are going with Erick Fedde. St. Louis comes in with a record of 77-75, while the Pirates have lost three straight and are 71-81.

Betting Odds & Lines for this Game

• Spread: Pirates 1.5 (-181) | Cardinals -1.5 (+150)
• Total: 8
• MoneyLine: Pirates +119 | Cardinals -139

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

Pirates vs. Cardinals Prediction: Moneyline

St. Louis cruised to a 10-5 win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. The Cardinals had a huge 7th inning, scoring six of their ten runs. As for the Pirates, they scored their only two runs in the 4th and added three more in the 6th.

Michael McGreevy got the win for the Cardinals, going five innings and giving up four earned runs. He finished the game with eight strikeouts but allowed one home run. Jake Woodford struggled on the mound for the Pirates, taking the loss after going just 4 2/3 innings and giving up four earned runs.

Nolan Arenado and Ivan Herrera each had three hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals’ offense. Alec Burleson also had a multi-hit game, going 2/5 with an RBI.

Pittsburgh is 71-81 overall, and they are 17 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. Currently, they are in 5th place in the division, just behind the Reds for 4th place. The Pirates have gone 22-23 against other teams in the NL Central this year.

The Pirates have dropped three straight games, and they have lost four in a row on the road as the underdog. As the underdog overall, Pittsburgh is 37-53 this year and 34-28 when favored. At home, the Pirates are 38-40 this year.

St. Louis is currently 2nd in the NL Central but trails the Brewers by 11 games. The Cardinals are 77-75 overall and have gone 26-25 against other teams in the NL Central. The team has won three straight games, and their home record is 42-35 this season.

The Cardinals have won five straight games at home, and they are 27-25 as the home favorite this season. St. Louis has been favored in 72 of their games, and they are 37-35 in those matchups. As for playing on the road, the Cardinals are 35-40 this season.

Pirates vs. Cardinals Prediction: Over/Under

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road today against the St. Louis Cardinals, and the over/under line for the game is set at 8 runs. The combined run average for Pirates games this season is 8.8 runs, and their over/under record is 74-76. The average over/under line for their games is 8 runs, and their record when the line is set at 8 runs is 16-18. So far this season, 75 of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 8 runs, which accounts for 49.3% of their games. On the other hand, 43 games have had lower over/under lines, making up 28.3% of their games.

Coming into today’s game, the Pirates are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 22nd in the league. They have been a bit better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. Overall, they are batting just .236, and their team on-base percentage of .302 is also near the bottom of the league. As a team, they are also 22nd in home runs.

Bryan Reynolds is having a strong season for the Pirates, as he is batting .280 with a team-high 85 RBIs and 22 homers. Bryan De La Cruz and Andrew McCutchen are also tied for 2nd on the team with 20 homers. However, De La Cruz has struggled of late, going just 2/15 in his last four games. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has gone 8/20 in his last five games.

The St. Louis Cardinals are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates today, and the over/under line is set at 8 runs. The combined run average for Cardinals games this season is 8.6, and their over/under record is 71-77. The average over/under line for their games is 8 runs, and when the line is set at 8 runs, their over/under record is 11-17-1. Overall, 53.9% of their games have had over/under lines set at more than 8 runs, while 27.0% have had lines set at fewer than 8 runs.

St. Louis has been one of the worst offensive teams in the league this season, averaging just 4.1 runs per game (24th in the MLB). They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.2 runs per game. The Cardinals have been a good hitting team in terms of batting average, but they are near the bottom of the league in home runs and have a collective OPS of just .699.

Over the team’s last eight games, Brendan Donovan has gone 8/27 with two homers and five RBIs. This has pushed his season average to .271, which is 2nd on the team. Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt are tied for the team lead with 21 homers, with Goldschmidt batting just .244 for the season.

Pirates vs. Cardinals Prediction: Spread

When it comes to the run line, the Pirates have been a better bet on the road than at home, as they are 43-31 against the run line away from PNC Park. They have been favored in 62 games this season and have gone 24-38 against the run line in those contests. The average run margin in games they have won this season is +3.2, while the average run margin in games they have lost is -3.6.

Pittsburgh is sending Luis L. Ortiz to the mound today vs. the Cardinals, and he comes in with a record of 6-6 and an ERA of 3.45. So far, he has made 13 starts and 35 total appearances. Ortiz has a WHIP of 1.13 and has turned in five quality starts this year. In his last outing, he took the loss, giving up four earned runs in four innings of work vs. the Royals. Before that, he had won two straight starts. One of those wins came on the road, where he is 4-3 with a 3.45 ERA compared to 2-3 with a 4.14 ERA at home.

At home, the Cardinals are 39-38 against the run line, and they have covered in four straight games at Busch Stadium. As the underdog, St. Louis is 52-28 vs. the run line, and they have an average run differential of -0.1 runs per game at home.

Right-hander Erick Fedde gets the start for the Cardinals today as he faces the Pirates at home. He has made 29 starts this season and has a record of 8-9 with a 3.45 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Fedde has a WHIP of 1.18 and has allowed a total of 20 home runs. In his last outing, Fedde finished with a no-decision, giving up three earned runs in five innings of work. Before that, he had lost three straight starts. Fedde has made 11 quality starts this season and is averaging 7.72 strikeouts per nine innings.

Pirates vs. Cardinals Pick: Cardinals ML -139

Our pick for today’s Pirates vs. Cardinals matchup is to take the Cardinals on the money line at -139. We actually have the Cardinals winning this one by a score of 5-4, meaning you could also look to take the over, as the line is sitting at 8 runs.

Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Erick Fedde finishing with five strikeouts, which is good for sixth-worst among today’s starters. As for Luis L. Ortiz, he is projected to finish with five K’s, which is right in the middle of the pack.