Pirates vs Cardinals Prediction

St. Louis Cardinals (6-9) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (9-6)

Game Info: Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 2:15 pm (Busch Stadium)

Miles Mikolas (0-1) (10.05) vs Mitch Keller (1-0) (3.57)

Betting Odds: St. Louis Cardinals -217 / Pittsburgh Pirates +165 --- Over/Under: 8.5

The St. Louis Cardinals will host the Pittsburgh Pirates for game four of their weekend series this Sunday from Busch Stadium. Pittsburgh took Saturday’s meeting after a big tenth inning, 6-3. 

Pirates Betting Preview 

Pittsburgh is 9-6 after defeating St. Louis. The Pirates have taken two of three from the Cardinals in this early divisional set, and they’ll look to steal another this Sunday. The Pittsburgh offense is scoring 3.95 runs per game, while batting .232, with a .312 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 4.46 ERA, with a 1.41 WHIP. Bryan Reynolds has recorded a hit in eight of the last ten games, and he’s first on the team in HR (5) and  RBI (14). Connor Joe leads the Pirates in batting average (.355), after multiple hits in two of three games versus the Cards. 

Mitch Keller (1-0, 3.57 ERA, 9 Ks) will get the start for Pittsburgh. The fifth-year pitcher looks better early on in 2023, striking out seven or more in each of his first three starts. Keller contained a talented Houston lineup to two runs over six innings last week, and he held Boston to just one run over seven innings at Fenway in the outing prior.  

Cardinals Betting Preview

St. Louis fell to 5-8 following the loss to Pittsburgh. The Cardinals were shut out for the second time this season last night, and they’ll look to respond abruptly here, as they sit below .500. The St. Louis offense is scoring 3.93 runs per game, while batting .276, with a .344 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 4.54 ERA, with a 1.51 WHIP. Nolan Arenado has recorded a hit in eight of the last ten games, and he leads the Cards in batting average (.328) and RBI (13). Paul Goldschmidt has produced a RBI in four of the last six games, and he’s right behind Arenado in average at .327. 

Miles Mikolas (0-2, 10.05 ERA, 8 Ks) will start for St. Louis. The eleventh-year pitcher has struggled alarmingly early on this season, giving up nine hits or more in each of his first three starts. Mikolas gave up six runs in five innings at Coors last week against the Rockies, and he carries one of the worst ERAs in the league.  

Pirates vs Cardinals Trends 

Pittsburgh is 8-7 against the spread this season, with a 6-8-1 over/under record. St. Louis is 7-8 ATS, with a 4-10-1 O/U record.

Corey's Free Pick

Mitch Keller’s off-season improvements along with Miles Mikolas’ sloppy start make this an interesting spot. Pittsburgh is capable of producing on a vulnerable Mikolas, and it should reflect on the scoreboard. It’s also unlikely Keller contains this Cardinals lineup coming off of divisional loss. I like St. Louis jumping back into the win column here, but I’m backing the Over here with neither pitcher imposing a major threat on the hill. 

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.