The St. Louis Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in this very important matchup at Busch Stadium for the postseason potential. The Cardinals (77-75), who are fighting hard for the final wildcard spot, will be willing to use the home court against the Pirates (71-81), who are having problems stringing together wins. As for the ones in need of multi-handicapper premium tips, the game is worth paying attention to as it has an interesting set of features provided the difference in forms and the motivation of the teams involved.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals 9/19/24 Game Info and Odds |
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| When: | Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 7:15 PM ET |
| Where: | Busch Stadium |
| Watch: | SNP, BSMW, MLB.TV |
| Pirates odds: | +120 |
| Cardinals odds: | -142 |
| Total Line: | 8 |
Pittsburgh Pirates (71-81) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (77-75)
The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting 10 games behind the Cardinals entering August and have seen better days. Their last performances are revealing a worrying trend as they continue to lose and recently lost all three games including their series against the Cardinals. Cultural shifts within the team have resulted in poor performance on the field. In their last five games, they notched only one win against Kansas City (4-3) whilst losing severely like the 10-5 total score against St Louis Cardinals. Apart from that recent 3-0 victory over the Marlins, this slide has also revealed some cracks in their offensive construction and bullpen strength, both of which have provided a batting average of 235 and disappointing slugging percent.
| Pittsburgh Pirates Last 5 Games | |||
| Date | Opponent | Score | SU |
| Sep 18, 2024 | STL | 5-10 | L |
| Sep 17, 2024 | STL | 1-3 | L |
| Sep 16, 2024 | STL | 0-4 | L |
| Sep 15, 2024 | KC | 4-3 | W |
| Sep 14, 2024 | KC | 1-5 | L |
On the Flip Side, the St. Louis Cardinals appear to have picked one of the best moments to be in form, particularly in their backyard. In the last five matches where they opposed the Pirates, they have performed exactly opposite the Pirates’ recent form recording a 10-5 win over the Pirates. The remaining contests against Pittsburgh’s baseball team were of a suppressed nature, and in one of these spells, the team managed to blank the Pirates out by a 4-0 score. Even though the club has faced challenges against the Toronto, posting games of 2-3 and 2-7, the team’s overall statistics of a .245 average, but more so a .388 slugging percentage, is extremely encouraging as the postseason nears.
| St. Louis Cardinals Last 5 Games | |||
| Date | Opponent | Score | SU |
| Sep 18, 2024 | PIT | 10-5 | W |
| Sep 17, 2024 | PIT | 3-1 | W |
| Sep 16, 2024 | PIT | 4-0 | W |
| Sep 15, 2024 | TOR | 2-3 | L |
| Sep 14, 2024 | TOR | 2-7 | L |
Luis Ortiz (6-6, 3.45 ERA) vs. Erick Fedde (8-9, 3.45 ERA)
Luis Ortiz of the Pirates has a very good 3.45 ERA as well as 1.13 WHIP in the 122.2 innings pitched this season. Ortiz can be key in this do-or-die match innings by preventing hits but will have to coax outs through strikeouts (all of 100 hits allowed but also 100 over 95 strikeouts). Ortiz’s command will be put to good use since he is likely to face the Cardinals, who capitalize on any weaknesses from the pitchers.
Erick Fedde, for the Cardinals, presents an interesting opponent, in this case, the same fixed annual earnings, but a slightly higher WHIP of 1.18. In total, over 164.1 innings performed Sox, he struck out 141 batters, looking at which one can give more walks and home runs than Ortiz. His experience and going deep into games could be very important, especially if he can keep his cool against the Pirates’ lineup that is not performing well.
MLB Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis Cardinals -142, Total Odds: 8
The betting odds are leaning towards the Cardinals, as expected, given the recent performance, and does not hurt that they are playing at home as well. The total line is also set on eight points, but most of the trends suggest that the majority would consider the UNDER, which just goes on to explain the expectations of it being a close match hence a duel between the two pitchers.
Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends
As for the recent performance of the Pirates, it is not promising, having had a negative trend of being UNDER in 4 of the 5 previous games, which shows their offensive woes and their inability to score runs consistently. And if we focus on their road games, the picture is even scarier for the Pirates as, this time, they haven’t won in St. Louis for five visits.
St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends
The Cardinals, on the other hand, have been fantastic at home where the last five games played at Busch Stadium have ended 5-0. Their streak of going UNDER in 6 out of 7 games against the National League teams helps to emphasize their tendency to control the games and allow lower scores.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals 9/19/24 Betting Picks
Given the current dynamics, the Cardinals should be able to enjoy the benefits of home advantage and the Pirates on the road struggles. In addition, his depth and the Cardinals’ offense in this matchup clearly make this one a good bet on the contours. In conjunction with the above, the under on the total points should be held whilst looking into recent scoring outputs of both teams’ recent trends.
Looking into prop bets, the under on total runs seems feasible, backed by the pitchers’ good ERA and the teams’ UNDER trends respectively. After all, the Cardinals are rather a more reliable pick in this case with a possibility of a close win that voices down the scoring. read the top MLB free predictions to improve your betting strategy in this important match-up and make the most of your insights.