Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals Prediction 8-21-23 MLB Picks

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet in game one of a three-game NL Central division set from PNC Park on Monday. Two teams that desperately need a win, who draws first blood? Let’s dive in and find out.

Cardinals Salvage Win Vs. Mets

The St. Louis Cardinals were getting beat up in their series vs. the Mets before saving face with a 7-3 win over the Mets in Sunday’s series finale. The win pushed the Cards to 55-70 on the year, still sitting 13 games back in the race in the NL Central and 10 games back in the NL Wild Card hunt. Nolan Arenado leads the Cardinals with 26 home runs, 85 RBIs and a .282 batting average while Paul Goldschmidt has a team-high 132 hits and 25 doubles this season. Lars Nootbaar also has a .283 batting average for the Cards this season. Drew Rom will get the start for the Pirates here and is making his major league debut.

St. Louis Cardinals Team Facts

• The Cardinals have lost eight of their last nine night games against National League opponents.
• The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven games at PNC Park.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last four night games.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last four night games against opponents that held a losing record.
• The Cardinals have won the first inning in each of their last three games against NL Central opponents.

Pirates Drop Series Vs. Twins

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a shot to get a nice confidence building series win over the Twins, but instead were shut out in Sunday’s series finale following a 2-0 loss to the Twins. The loss dropped the Pirates to 55-69 on the year, sitting 9.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race and 12.5 games off the pace in the NL Central hunt. Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with 116 hits and 60 RBIs with a .269 batting average while Jack Suwinski has a team-high 21 home runs and 54 RBIs this season. Andrew McCutchen also has a team-best .374 OBP this season. The Pirates did not have a starting pitcher announced at the time that this article was posted.

Pittsburgh Pirates Team Facts

• The Pirates have won each of their last six games against National League opponents following a road loss.
• The Pirates have covered the run line in each of their last seven home games against the Cardinals.
• The Pirates have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last four games.
• The Pirates have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last six games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
• The 'Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Pirates' last four night games against National League opponents.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Pittsburgh Pirates ranks 28th in the league for hits this season (959).
• The Pittsburgh Pirates ranks 28th in the league for batting average this season (.234).
• The St. Louis Cardinals ranks 1st in the league for home runs allowed this season (126).
• The St. Louis Cardinals ranks 29th in the league for opponent batting average this season (.273).

Chris’ Pick

I’m looking at the Cardinals here. I don’t love backing them with a rookie pitcher going, but I can’t back a Pirates team that couldn’t hit another lefty on Sunday in Dallas Keuchel and made a trash pile like Keuchel look like Cy Young for a lot of that game. The Cards have been a giant disappointment, but they’ve done a bit better as of late at the plate and I think they can sneak out a win to start the series. Give me the Cardinals.