The Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals begin a four-game set at Busch Stadium on Thursday night. Both teams have looked terrible over the last month but the Cards could still realistically make a postseason run if they turn things around.
MLB betting lines have St. Louis installed as a -155 favorite tonight as they look to continue their recent run of success against the Pirates.
Here are our best free Pirates vs. Cardinals picks and predictions for June 24.
Pirates vs Cardinals game info
• Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
• Date: Thursday, June 24, 2021
• Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
• TV: ATTP, BSN
Pirates vs Cardinals odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Compare MLB odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
MLB sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonAs of 4:45 p.m. ET, St. Louis is a -160 favorite at PointsBet USA, up 10 cents from Wednesday afternoon's -150 opener. Ticket count is just shy of 3/1 and money just beyond 2/1 on the Cardinals. The total moved from 8.5 (Over -120) to 9 (Under -115) on two-way action, with 57 percent of bets on the Over and 53 percent of cash on the Under.
Check out the full line movement for this gamePirates vs Cardinals betting preview
Starting pitchers
Chad Kuhl (1-4, 5.66 ERA): Kuhl has never been the most reliable pitcher and he's going through his worst statistical season as a pro. The right-hander is coming off a strong outing against Cleveland where he allowed one run in six innings of work. However, that was only his second quality start of the year.
Carlos Martinez (3-8, 6.62 ERA): It's been a rough season for Martinez, who is trying to get his career back on track after a slew of injuries and a bout with COVID last year. The 28-year-old has a 1.37 WHIP through 68 innings this season and is coming off an ugly start against the Cubs where he allowed eight runs in three innings.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Pirates: Sam Howard RP (Out).
Cardinals: Harrison Bader OF (Out), Daniel Ponce de Leon RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Pirates are 17-54 in their last 71 games on the road. Find more MLB betting trends for Pirates vs. Cardinals.
Moneyline pick
Neither of these clubs have looked good this season. The Pirates are last in the NL with a 26-46 record, while the Cardinals have lost 14 of their last 19 games to fall two games below .500.
The Bucs have been the worst batting team in the majors, ranking dead-last in both OPS (.652) and scoring with 3.53 runs per game. However, St. Louis has been even worse lately, plating just 3.38 runs per game with an OPS of .634 over the last 30 days.
The Cards will send veteran Carlos Martinez to the hill tonight. The 28-year-old was once a very productive starter, but transitioned to the bullpen midway through the 2018 season. He came back into the rotation last year but has been absolutely awful while fighting through various ailments. Over his last four starts, Martinez has surrendered a whopping 25 runs through 14 2-3 innings.
Chad Kuhl will toe the rubber for the Pirates and the right-hander still looks like the same inconsistent pitcher that made his major league debut for Pittsburgh five years ago. Kuhl returned from Tommy John surgery last season and is posting career-worst numbers in both ERA (5.66) and WHIP (1.49).
It's tough to trust either team right now, but the Cardinals have owned the head-to-head series lately, winning nine straight games against their NL Central rivals. And they typically get the job done when they're expected to, going 19-7 in their last 26 games as a favorite. Back them at home tonight.
PREDICTION: ML St. Louis (-155)
Over/Under pick
Both teams have been absolutely brutal at the plate but they also have a pair of weak starters on the mound.
It's tough to see which way this game will go, but even with the Pirates and Cardinals struggling to make contact, Overs have been cashing with Kuhl and Martinez on the mound. The Over is 5-2 in Martinez's last seven starts while the Pirates are 7-1 O/U in Kuhl's eight starts this season.
As bad as Martinez's 6.62 ERA looks, he might actually be even worse than that. His expected opponent slugging percentage of .486 is nearly 100 points higher than his actual opponent slugging percentage of .395, which suggests that he has actually been getting lucky when you consider how much contact he allows.
With winds blowing out towards left field today and reaching up to 14 miles per hour, we're leaning towards the Over.
PREDICTION: Over 9 (+104)
Pirates vs Cardinals betting card
- ML St. Louis (-155)
- Over 9 (+104)
Picks made on 6/24/2021 at 11:25 a.m. ET
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