St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Pick & Prediction 7/3/24

Both the Cardinals and Pirates will be looking to move up in the NL Central standings when they face off at 6:40 PM ET. This one is being played at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and the Pirates are the slight favorite on the money line (-127). The money line odds have the Cardinals at +109.

Wednesday’s forecast in Pittsburgh calls for temperatures in the mid 80’s and broken clouds. Miles Mikolas will start for the Cardinals, and he is facing off against Jared Jones. St. Louis is currently on a two-game winning streak, and they are 2nd in the NL Central, while the Pirates are 3rd at 40-44.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES VS ST. LOUIS CARDINALS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates Moneyline -127

This game will be played at PNC Park at 6:40 ET on Wednesday, July 3rd.

HOW TO BET THE CARDINALS VS PIRATES:

• We have the Pirates winning by a score of 5 to 4
• However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Cardinals to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over

St. Louis picked up a 7-4 road win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. The Cardinals had a huge 4th inning, scoring four of their seven runs. As for the Pirates, they scored four of their five runs in the 5th. Heading into the game, the Cardinals were at +103 on the money line.

Kyle Gibson got the win for the Cardinals in this one, going five innings and giving up four earned runs. He finished the game with eight strikeouts but issued a season-high five walks. As for the Pirates, Mitch Keller gave up five earned runs in five innings of work.

Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson each homered for the Cardinals, while Jack Suwinski went deep for the Pirates. Gorman, Brendan Donovan, and Paul Goldschmidt each had two hits and two RBIs for St. Louis’ offense.

Cardinals Records & Stats

St. Louis is 44-40 overall and is six games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead. The Cardinals have won two straight games, and they are 12-11 against other teams in the NL Central. So far, they have gone 24-18 at home and 20-22 on the road.

As the road underdog, the Cardinals have gone 14-16 this year, and they are 22-21 as the underdog overall. St. Louis’ overall series record is 14-11-2, and they are coming off a series win over the Giants.

When the Cardinals win, they win big, with an average run margin of 2.4 runs. But when they lose, they lose big, with an average run margin of -3.6 runs. Their run line record is 43-41, with a -0.4 run margin. They are 27-16 vs. the run line as an underdog, and 16-25 as a favorite.

St. Louis is on the road against Pittsburgh today, and the over/under line is set at 8 runs. The Cardinals have a combined run average of 8.4 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 37-44. When the over/under line has been set at 8 runs, their record is 7-9-1. Overall, 51.2% of their games have had over/under lines set at more than 8 runs.

Right-hander Miles Mikolas is starting for the Cardinals today as he faces the Pirates on the road. This year, he has made 17 starts and has a record of 6-7 with an ERA of 5.32. Looking at his overall numbers, Mikolas has a WHIP of 1.25 and has issued just 1.71 walks per nine innings. In his last outing, he took the loss, giving up nine earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Before that, he had won two straight starts. Mikolas has made nine starts on the road and has a record of 5-4 with a 4.90 ERA.

Over the past 10 games, Alec Burleson has been swinging a hot bat for the Cardinals, going 12/37 with three homers and 15 RBIs. Brendan Donovan has also been a key contributor of late, batting .361 with six RBIs in this stretch. Donovan comes into the game with a team-leading 42 RBIs and is 4th on the team with eight homers. Nolan Gorman has struggled with a batting average of just .192 but does lead the team with 17 homers.

Overall, the Cardinals are batting just .240 as a team and are 26th in the league in runs scored. They have also been one of the worst home run hitting teams in the league this season. As a team, they are averaging 4 runs per game.

Pirates Records & Stats

Pittsburgh is 40-44 overall, putting them 3rd in the NL Central. Currently, they trail the Brewers by 10 games for the division lead. So far, they have gone just 12-12 against other NL Central teams. The Pirates dropped the first game of this series vs. the Cardinals and overall are 11-12-4 in series this year.

At home, the Pirates are 19-21 this year and have gone 21-23 on the road. As the favorite, Pittsburgh is 15-19 this year and 25-25 as the underdog. They have dropped two straight as the favorite.

When it comes to the run line, the Pirates have been a better bet on the road this season, going 26-18 compared to 19-21 at home. They have lost five straight run line bets at home and have been favored in four of their last five run line losses. Overall, the Pirates are 45-39 vs. the run line this season, with an average run margin of -0.4 runs per game.

When the Pirates play at home, the over/under line is set at 8 runs, which is right at their combined run average of 8.5 runs per game. Overall, the Pirates have a 39-44 over/under record, and their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs. When the line is set at 8 runs, the Pirates have a 10-12 over/under record, and 46.4% of their games have had higher lines than 8 runs.

Jared Jones gets the start for the Pirates today and will be looking to build off his last outing, where he gave up just two earned runs in seven innings of work. In that outing vs. the Rays, he only gave up three hits and issued three walks. Looking back further, Jones has made nine quality starts this year and is 5-6 with a 3.66 ERA. For the season, opponents are batting .215 vs. Jones. Per nine innings, he is averaging 9.73 strikeouts compared to 2.62 walks. At home, Jones has an ERA of 2.27.

So far this season, the Pirates are averaging just 4 runs per game, which is 25th in the MLB. They have been a little better on the road, averaging 4.2 runs per game. As a team, the Pirates are batting just .227, and their on-base percentage of .296 is also near the bottom of the league. Pittsburgh’s team OPS of .655 is 26th in the MLB.

Bryan Reynolds has been the Pirates’ top hitter this season, as he is batting .271 with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs. His 46 RBIs are the best mark on the team. Oneil Cruz and Andrew McCutchen have also been solid power threats this season, with 12 homers apiece. However, McCutchen has struggled of late, going just 3/20 in his last five games.