Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 6/2/2018 Prediction & Odds

Pirates vs. Cardinals Saturday Prediction

After splitting the first two games of their series, the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals will meet again Saturday at 2:15 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium. What's the best play on the board for bettors in today's matchup?

Game Snapshot & Odds

951 Pittsburgh Pirates (+135) at 952 St. Louis Cardinals (-150); 9 runs

Saturday, June 2, 2018

2:15 p.m. ET, Busch Stadium

TV: PIT (ATTP); STL (FSMW)

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Public Betting Trends

Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Cardinals as a -150 favorite. As of this writing, 63% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Cardinals to beat the Pirates on the moneyline. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on this game.

Pirates' Kuhl wild but allows just one run in tough-luck loss to Cubs

Chad Kuhl walked four batters but yielded just one run over six innings in a tough-luck loss to the Cubs on Monday. He served up a solo home run to Anthony Rizzo in the second inning and that’s all the Cubbies were able to muster off the right-hander, as Kuhl was able to pitch around some wildness. He gave up four hits and struck out five and for the second outing in a row permitted just one run to lower his ERA below 4.00 for the first time all season.

Cardinals' Weaver struggles in last start

Luke Weaver was charged with four runs over just four innings of work Monday in a loss to the Brewers. The killer was a bases loaded, two-out, two-run single by pitcher Brent Suter on a ball that was pulled down the line but first baseman Jose Martinez failed to corral. Weaver gave up four hits – including a home run to Christian Yelich – and walked two on the day. The young righty had pitched well in his previous three outings following a rough stretch, but this was a step backward.

MLB Betting Trends

Pittsburgh

The Pirates are 1-5 in Kuhl's last six starts versus the Cardinals and are winless in his last four road outings versus St. Louis. The Pirates have won seven of their last 10 meetings with the Cardinals but are just 17-35 in their last 52 games played at Busch Stadium.

St. Louis

The Cardinals are 2-6 in Weaver's last eight starts and are 1-4 in his last five home outings.

Prediction:

After taking the under last night in this series, I'm going right back to the well this afternoon. In the last five meetings between these two teams at Busch Stadium, the under is 4-1. In the last 15 meetings overall, the under is 9-4-2. Weaver has been struggling but his advanced profile reads like a pitcher that is in store for positive regression. He owns a 4.25 ERA but his SIERA is 3.71. He also has a healthy strikeout rate (25.1%) and walk rate (7.4%), and has been limiting hard contact to 28.1%. Kuhl, meanwhile, is due for some negative regression and is getting hit hard (36.1%) but the Cardinals offense is brutal right now outside of an outburst here or there (such as Thursday night when they scored 10 runs).

The Pick: Pirates/Cardinals under 9