Pirates vs. Cardinals Thursday Prediction
The Pirates treaded water over their last 10 games, the Cardinals have dropped six of their last 10 and six of their last seven overall. Will the Pirates pull off the upset at Busch Stadium tonight when these NL Central rivals clash at 7:45 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot & Odds
905 Pittsburgh Pirates (+127) at 906 St. Louis Cardinals (-138); 8.5 runs
Thursday, May 9, 2019
7:45 p.m. ET, Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
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Public Betting Trends
According to our MLB Public Betting Chart page, 74% of the betting tickets are on the Cardinals to beat the Pirates on the moneyline.
Pittsburgh Pirates Fantasy Spin
Melky Cabrera extended his hitting streak to 12 with a two-hit afternoon Wednesday in a loss to Texas. Both hits were singles. Cabrera scored his lone run in the fourth inning, coming across on Josh Bell’s ninth homer of 2019. The former All-Star Game MVP hasn’t hit for much power—just nine of his 35 hits have gone for extra bases—but he’s certainly made his presence felt, hitting an even .350 over 100 at-bats this season. That average is good for fourth-best in the majors behind Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger (.403), reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich (.356) and Mets breakout star Jeff McNeil (.352).
St. Louis Cardinals Fantasy Spin
Paul Goldschmidt continued his recent slide, failing to log a hit in four plate appearances Wednesday in a loss to the Phillies. Goldschmidt struck out, walked, flew out and grounded out in his four trips to the plate Wednesday afternoon. The ex-Diamondback has been a disaster recently, managing just three hits in his last 25 at-bats while seeing his average dip from .264 to .240 over that stretch. Goldy clubbed six long balls over his first 11 games for St. Louis but he’s gone deep just three times since with his last homer coming on April 22. The 31-year-old got off to a similarly horrid start last season (.209 AVG through May) before turning it around in the second half, so hopefully better days are ahead.
MLB Betting Trends
Pittsburgh
The Pirates have won five of their last seven games overall but are just 2-7 in their last nine contests following a loss.
St. Louis
The Cardinals have dropped six of seven overall but are still 13-4 in their last 17 games at Busch Stadium.
Prediction:
I don’t know how long the Cardinals will stay in this current funk so might as well attack them while they’re down. Michael Wacha is starting tonight for St. Louis and he has been rocked for a 2.89 HR/9 ratio in his two starts at Busch Stadium. He also owns a .306 BAA and an 8.07 FIP in those two starts and while the Pirates are inconsistent offensively, but they owna line drive rate of 23.7% percent over the past week. Starling Marte, Jung-Ho Kang, Adam Frazier and Josh Bell should do some damage against Wacha and a struggling Cardinal bullpen tonight in St. Louis.
The Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates +127