Cardinals vs Pirates Odds, Lines & Spread (Sep. 9)
- The Cardinals vs Pirates odds favor St. Louis as -205 moneyline favorites on Friday, September 9, at 6:35pm ET
- St. Louis will give the ball to Miles Mikolas (11-10, 3.32 ERA), while Pittsburgh will counter with Roansy Contreras (4-4, 3.41 ERA)
- Read below for the Cardinals vs Pirates odds and betting prediction
Game 1 of the Cardinals (81-56, 34-33 away) versus Pirates (50-86, 27-41 home) series takes place Friday Night in the Steel City. St. Louis enters play winners of 9 of their last 12, while Pittsburgh has dropped six of seven.
Not surprisingly given their recent form and current records, the NL Central leaders opened up as heavy road chalk.
Cardinals vs Pirates Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | -205 | -1.5 (-120) | Ov 8 (-115) |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | +175 | +1.5 (+100) | Un 8 (-105) |
Odds as of September 8 at Caesars Sportsbook. See available Caesars Sportsbook bonus code. Not to mention BSSB’s cool $1k offer for new users who sign-up with our Barstool Sportsbook promo.
The Cards are currently -205 moneyline favorites, in a contest that features a total of 8. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm ET at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA with clear skies and 83 degree game time temperatures in the forecast.
St. Louis vs Pittsburgh Probable Pitchers
St. Louis, who enter play with +2000 World Series odds, will give the ball to Miles Mikolas. The 34-year-old hit a rough patch towards the end of August, but bounced back in a big way in his September debut.
A heck of an outing for Miles Mikolas. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/BwRqTyA9Dq
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) September 4, 2022
Mikolas completely dominated the Cubs, tossing 8 innings of shutout ball, while scattering only two hits. He’s allowed two earned runs or less in 11 of his past 16 starts, including his last outing versus the Pirates. That night he fell just one out shy of a complete game, holding Pittsburgh to one hit and striking out six.
Mikolas has had a ton of success in his career versus the Pirates lineup, holding them to a .208 average and .260 OBP over 72 at-bats.
Mikolas vs Contreras Stats
| 11-10 | Record | 4-4 |
| 3.32 | ERA | 3.41 |
| 1.21 | WHIP | 1.31 |
| .225 | OBA | .226 |
| 4.1 | SO/W Ratio | 2.1 |
Pittsburgh meanwhile, has had disappointing pitching from the majority of their starters lately. Roansy Contreras though, doesn’t fit into that category. The 22-year-old has been lights out in three consecutive outings, holding three of the top-six scoring teams in baseball to two runs or less.
#PIT Roansy Contreras is currently blazing.#LetsGoBucs | @Pirates pic.twitter.com/wq7E0cAfxu
— MLB Heat Check (@mlbheatcheck) September 8, 2022
He’s allowed just one run total over his past 11 innings, and is fresh off holding the mighty Blue Jays to only four hits and a single run over 6 innings.
Contreras will be eyeing revenge on Friday, as the Cards have hit him hard this season. He owns a 7.50 ERA against St. Louis in two appearances, surrendering six runs and eight hits in 6 innings.
Cardinals vs Pirates Betting Trends
In Contreras’ defense, St. Louis has smashed against most pitchers they’ve faced in 2022. The Cards are baseball’s third highest scoring team, and also rank top-three in OBP, slugging and OPS.
Sure, we will watch Goldy hitting another home run! pic.twitter.com/QbHq2hzD1M
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 8, 2022
Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are the top-two contenders in the NL MVP odds, and the team is slashing .271/.345/.488 over the past month. They’ve scored six or more runs eight times in the last two weeks, and are averaging seven runs per meeting with the Pirates this season.
Given that last stat, it’s no wonder Pittsburgh is 2-8 against St. Louis this season. The Pirates have been dropping games left, right and center recently, winning just six times since August 4th.
They’re fresh off getting swept in a twin-bill by the Mets, surrendering 15 runs and scoring only once. If they’re going to stay competitive in this matchup, Contreras will need to be lights out.
STL vs PIT Last 10 Meetings
| Date | Away Team | Home Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/15/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | PIT, 6-4 |
| 6/14/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | STL, 9-1 |
| 6/13/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | STL, 3-1 |
| 6/12/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | STL, 7-5 |
| 5/22/22 | Cardinals | Pirates | STL, 18-4 |
| 5/21/22 | Cardinals | Pirates | STL, 5-4 |
| 5/20/22 | Cardinals | Pirates | STL, 5-3 |
| 4/10/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | PIT, 9-4 |
| 4/9/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | STL, 6-2 |
| 4/7/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | STL, 9-0 |
Cardinals vs Pirates Pick
Entering play on Friday, Pittsburgh has scored three or fewer runs in six of their last seven, while getting shutout twice. Versus St. Louis, they’ve been held below four runs four times this season, and the way they’re swinging the bats combined with Mikolas’ history against them, betting under on Pittsburgh’s team total is my preferred target.
If betting the runline is your cup of tea instead, consider the following. 17 of the Pirates past 20 defeats have come by two or more runs, while St. Louis has beaten them by at least that many seven times in 2022.
Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates Under 3.5 runs (-150)
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As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
