St Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/24/2024

Game Time: 12:35 pm ET, Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Venue:  PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Where to Watch:  MLB Network

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -110, Pirates -110; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -110, Pirates -110; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -110, Pirates -110; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

St Louis Cardinals:  52-48 (2nd place, NL Central)

Pittsburgh Pirates:  51-49 (3rd place, NL Central)

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St Louis Cardinals:  4-6 last 10

Pittsburgh Pirates:  8-2 last 10

The Cardinals are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Atlanta Braves 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 52-48 record overall and have a road record of 26-26. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Pirates on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. The Cardinals lost the series opener of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 17th in the MLB with a .698 OPS. Lance Lynn is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Matthew Liberatore is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA this season. His team lost 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 0 ER, 0 HR, and 0 BB with 1 K on 0 hits through 0.1 IP against the Chicago Cubs.

The Pirates are entering this series off a loss and won their 3-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 51-49 record overall and have a home record of 25-25. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Cardinals on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. The Pirates won the 1st game of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 27th in the MLB with a .670 OPS. Paul Skenes is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Martín Pérez is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 1-5 with a 5.61 ERA this season. His team lost 4 of their last 5 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 6 earned runs, 2 homers, and 2 BB with 4 strikeouts on 7 hits through 3.2 innings played against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The current betting odds have the Cardinals listed as a pick 'em in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Pirates haven't looked great in their games this season with their 51-49 record overall, but that record has them in 3rd place of the NL Central and fighting for a playoff spot. They haven't looked as good in their home games with their 25-25 home record, but they have been getting really hot lately with their 8-2 record in their last 10 games. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have looked good in their games this season with their 52-48 record overall which has them in 2nd place of the NL Central and fighting to stay ahead of the Pirates who are right below them. They are 26-26 in their road games this season, but they haven't looked as good as the Pirates have been lately. The Cardinals haven't been as hot lately but they will be looking to get back on track as they are in a good position to try and make a run for the Wild Card. They are going to have Liberatore on the mound here and he is 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA. He hasn't really been starting many games this season as he has been pitching out of the bullpen so this will likely be a bullpen game for them, but they haven't been giving up many runs in their games lately with the bullpen pitching well. The Pirates are going to have Perez on the mound here and he hasn't looked good this season. He is 1-5 with a 5.61 ERA and has been giving up a ton of runs all year. He gave up 6 earned runs in his last start which has been a common theme, and the team has lost 4 of their last 5 games with him starting too. The Cardinals are going to be looking to bounce back here after losing the series opener and they have the better pitching matchup to take advantage of in this one. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cardinals to win this game.

Cardinals Pirates Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, July 24, 2024 (12:35 pm ET start time) is Cardinals 4 Pirates 1.

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St Louis Cardinals: 18-13 (+5.70 units) on the moneyline in their last 31 away games. 21-16 (+6.95 units) on the runline in their last 37 games. 7-0 (+7.30 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 7 away games. 

Pittsburgh Pirates: 22-24 (-6.45 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 46 home games. 26-13 to the under in their last 39 games. 51-34 to the under with their team total in their last 85 games. 

St Louis Cardinals:  S. Matz (SP) Out indefinitely - Back. K. Middleton (RP) Out indefinitely - Forearm. R. O'Brien (SP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. T. Edman (SS) Late May - Wrist. D. Rom (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder.

Pittsburgh Pirates:  B. Falter (RP) Out indefinitely - Arm. D. Jefferies (RP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. J. Jones (SP) Out indefinitely - Back. H. Stratton (SP) Out indefinitely - Tricep. R. Borucki (RP) Out indefinitely - Wrist. M. Perez (SP) Mid June - Groin. D. Moreta (RP) out for season - Elbow. J. Oviedo (SP) out for season - Elbow. E. Rodriguez (C) out for season - Elbow.

“That's why every decision, every pitch, every at-bat seems extremely magnified. Because there is no room for error. The margins have been really thin all year. We've played a lot of these games, like the one we played tonight. Yeah, one ball in the dirt leads to the runner moving up and it just changes the game a little bit. But listen, their side did a really nice job of scoring a run. So, that's what it comes down to.” - Oliver Marmol after his team’s loss against the Pirates in their game on Monday.

“People that have the ability to slow their heartbeats down and hit in those situations, it’s something that can’t be taught. It’s something that you have to do. I think we’ve got a couple guys that have it.” - Derek Shelton after his team’s win against the Cardinals in their game on Monday.

M Winn (R) SS

A Burleson (L) RF

W Contreras (R) DH

B Donovan (L) LF

N Arenado (R) 3B

L Nootbaar (L) CF

P Goldschmidt (R) 1B

N Gorman (L) 2B

P Pagés (R) C

A McCutchen (R) DH

B Reynolds (S) LF

O Cruz (L) SS

N Gonzales (R) 2B

R Tellez (L) 1B

K Hayes (R) 3B

J Suwinski (L) CF

C Joe (R) RF

J Bart (R) C

Batting Average:  Alec Burleson (.293)

Hits:  Brendan Donovan (101)

Home Runs:  Nolan Gorman (19)

RBI:  Alec Burleson (59)

Stolen Bases:  Michael Siani (13)

Wins:  Sonny Gray (10)

Saves:  Ryan Helsley (32)

ERA:  Ryan Loutos (0.00)

Batting Average:  Bryan Reynolds (.288)

Hits:  Bryan Reynolds (116)

Home Runs:  Bryan Reynolds (18)

RBI:  Bryan Reynolds (61)

Stolen Bases:  Oneil Cruz (9)

Wins:  Mitch Keller (10)

Saves:  David Bednar (18)

ERA:  Colin Holderman (1.72)

Managers:

St Louis Cardinals: Oliver Marmol (3rd season)

Pittsburgh Pirates: Derek Shelton (5th season)