The Pittsburgh Pirates (71-79) travel to face off against the St. Louis Cardinals (75-75) on Tuesday, September 17th. This game will be played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis and televised on SN PT. The Cardinals are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Pirates are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Cardinals. First pitch is set for 6:45 CT.

Pirates vs. Cardinals Betting Prediction

• Money Line Prediction: Pirates (+118)
• Over/Under Prediction: Over 8 Runs

• The Pirates have scored 4 or more runs in 9 of their last 15 games.
• The Pirates have won 6 of their last 9 games when scoring 4 or more runs.
• The Pirates have a recent head-to-head win against the Cardinals, beating them 5-0 on July 24th.
• The Pirates have a better away win percentage (33-39) compared to the Cardinals’ home win percentage (40-35).
• The Pirates have won 5 of their last 7 games against teams with a losing record.

Pirates vs Cardinals

St. Louis cruised to a 4-0 win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. The Cardinals had a big 8th inning, scoring two of their four runs. As for the Pirates, they had their best chance to score in the 7th, but could only muster one run.

Andre Pallante started for the Cardinals and picked up the win, going seven innings and not giving up a run. He finished the game with nine strikeouts but issued one walk. On the other side, Paul Skenes got the start for the Pirates and took the loss, giving up one earned run in six innings of work.

Nolan Arenado had a two-hit game for the Cardinals, scoring one run and driving in one. Isiah Kiner-Falefa was the only Pirates hitter to have more than one hit.

As the underdog, the Pirates have a 37-51 record and have lost two straight in that role. Overall, they are 71-79 and sit in 5th place in the NL Central, 16 games behind the Brewers. The Pirates’ series record this season is 20-21-6, and they lost the opener against the Cardinals.

This season, Pittsburgh games with totals of 8 or more have gone 16-17. The Pirates’ run line record is 81-69, and they are 43-29 on the road on the run line. In their last 10 games, they have a 5-5 record and have gone under in their last three games.

Bailey Falter Gets The Start For The Pirates

Pittsburgh is starting left-hander Bailey Falter vs. the Cardinals today, and he comes into the game with a record of 8-7 and an ERA of 4.20. Falter has made 25 starts this season and has turned in eight quality starts. In his 25 appearances, Falter has a WHIP of 1.27 and is averaging 6.23 strikeouts per nine innings. The last time he pitched, Falter went 7 1/3 innings, picking up the win and not giving up a run. Before that, he had given up at least three earned runs in three straight starts. Opponents are batting .255 off Falter this season.

Pirates Offense Breakdown

Andrew McCutchen has been one of the Pirates’ top power threats this season, as he is 2nd on the team with 20 homers but has struggled at the plate of late, going just 2/13 in his last four games. Overall, he is batting just .237. Bryan Reynolds has been a bright spot in the lineup, leading the team with a .280 batting average and 85 RBIs.

As a team, the Pirates are averaging 4.2 runs per game and have been slightly better at home (4.3 RPG) compared to on the road (4.0 RPG). They are near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories, including team batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS.

St. Louis has a 75-75 straight-up record and is 38-37 against the run line on the road. As underdogs, they have a 52-28 run line record, but as favorites, they are 23-47. The Cardinals are 40-35 at home and have won three straight games there. Overall, they are 4-6 in their last 10 games.

Today’s O/U line of 8 runs is the average for St. Louis games this season. The under has hit in two straight games, bringing their O/U record to 70-76. The Cardinals have played 54.7% of their games with O/U lines higher than 8 runs.

Lance Lynn Gets The Start For The Cardinals

St. Louis is sending Lance Lynn to the mound today vs. the Pirates, and he will be looking to build off his last outing, where he didn’t give up a run. Against the Reds on September 11th, he went 5 innings, gave up one earned run, and finished with a no-decision. Looking back at his last four outings, Lynn has given up just one earned run in three of them. His ERA for the season is 3.96, along with a record of 6-4. Lynn’s ERA at home is 3.62, and he is 5-0 at home this season.

Cardinals Offense Breakdown

Heading into today’s game, the Cardinals are 25th in the MLB, averaging just 4.1 runs per game. They are also below average in terms of home runs and have a team batting average of .246, which is 11th in the league. St. Louis has a few guys with solid home run totals, as Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt are tied for the team lead with 21 homers. Burleson’s 73 RBIs are the best mark on the team.

Over his last seven games, Brendan Donovan has gone 8/23, including one home run. This has moved his season average to .270. Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson also have batting averages of .270. Jordan Walker is on a three-game hitting streak but is batting just .208 over his last nine games.

Pirates vs Cardinals Prediction

Our pick for this Pirates vs. Cardinals matchup is to take the Pirates on the money line, with the payout sitting at +118. We have the Pirates winning this one by a final score of 5-4, giving us some room to take them on the money line.

Looking at the starting pitchers, Lance Lynn is projected to finish with six strikeouts, which is good for 14th among starters. Bailey Falter is predicted to finish with just three strikeouts, the lowest among today’s starters.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.