Cardinals vs Pirates Odds, Lines & Predictions (Oct. 3)
By John Perrotto in MLB Baseball
Published:
- The Cardinals are -175 road favorites over the Pirates on Monday night
- Miles Mikolas (12-13, 3.30) will start for the Cardinals against the Pirates’ Mitch Keller (5-12, 3.92)
- The matchup and odds for Cardinals vs Pirates can be found below with a pick
The National League Central champion St. Louis Cardinals will continue gearing up for the postseason when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates at 6:35 p.m. ET Monday in the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park.
The Cardinals (92-67, 39-39 road) lost to the Pirates 7-5 on Sunday in the finale of a three-game series in St. Louis after winning three of their previous four games. The Pirates (60-99, 32-46 home) have won four of their last six games.
The Cardinals begin postseason play Friday.
Cardinals vs Pirates Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | -175 | OFF | OFF |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | +145 | OFF | OFF |
Odds as of October 3rd at BetMGM.
St. Louis is a -175 favorite for a 63.64% implied win probability. The Cardinals have +2200 World Series odds.
The weather forecast is for mostly cloudy, a gametime temperature of 60 with a low of 43 and calm wind.
St. Louis vs Pittsburgh Probable Pitchers
Miles Mikolas (12-13, 3.30) is scheduled to pitch for the Cardinals against Mitch Keller (5-12, 3.92). Both will be working on five days of rest.
Mikolas vs Keller
| 12-13 | Record | 5-12 |
| 3.30 | ERA | 3.92 |
| 3.90 | xERA | 4.24 |
| 1.03 | WHIP | 1.39 |
| 3.92 | SO/W | 2.29 |
Mikolas ended a three-start losing streak last Tuesday by beating the Brewers in Milwaukee when he gave up one run and four hits in six innings. Mikolas struck out nine and walked one in helping the Cardinals clinch the division title.
#STLCards RHP Miles Mikolas getting a beer shower by pitching coach Mike Maddux. pic.twitter.com/itNFzvLDMb
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) September 28, 2022
In 18 career games (16 starts) against the Pirates, Mikolas has a 5-5 record and 3.05 ERA. At PNC Park, he is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in eight games (seven starts).
Mikolas is 6-10 with a 4.13 ERA in 18 starts on the road this season. He has an 8-8 mark and 3.06 ERA in 20 starts at night. The Cardinals are 18-14 when Mikolas pitches.
Keller is 1-4 in his last eight starts despite a 3.02 ERA. He had a no-decision in his last start last Tuesday against the visiting Cincinnati Reds, allowing one run on five hits in five innings while striking out five and walking three.
This will be Keller’s eighth career start versus the Cardinals. He is 2-1 against them with a 3.35 ERA.
Mitch Keller, Wicked Sliders. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/6hUxDj7Qp2
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 11, 2022
Keller is just 1-7 at home this season with a 3.73 ERA in 16 games (15 starts). At night, he is 5-7 with a 4.47 ERA in 19 games (18 starts). The Pirates are 9-19 in Keller’s starts.
Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers
| Cardinals Batters | Batting Average vs Mitch Keller |
|---|---|
| Lars Nootbaar | .600 |
| Andrew Knizner | .500 |
| Tommy Edman | .313 |
| Nolan Arenado | .273 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | .250 |
| Yadier Molina | .231 |
| Brendan Donovan | .200 |
| Paul DeJong | .143 |
| Dylan Carlson | .111 |
| Corey Dickerson | .111 |
| Albert Pujols | .000 |
| Juan Yepez | .000 |
| Alec Burleson | .000 |
| Pirates Batters | Batting Average vs Miles Mikolas |
| Cal Mitchell | 1.000 |
| Oneil Cruz | .667 |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes | .500 |
| Jason Delay | .500 |
| Bryan Reynolds | .308 |
| Kevin Newman | .167 |
| Ben Gamel | .125 |
| Rodolfo Castro | .000 |
| Jack Suwinski | .000 |
| Diego Castillo | .000 |
The Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar has a .667 on-base percentage against Keller as he is 3 for 5 with three walks. However, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols is 0 for 6.
The Pirates’ Ke’Bryan Hayes is 4 for 8 with a double off Mikolas but Kevin Newman is hitting just .167 (3 for 18) with two doubles.
Cardinals vs Pirates Betting Trends
Ben Gamel and Bryan Reynolds homered to lift the Pirates over the Cardinals on Sunday.
Big Game Ben Gamel 😤 pic.twitter.com/wvnio2YErk
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) October 2, 2022
Gamel’s blast came with two men on base. Reynolds hit a solo shot, his team-high 27th, and broke an 0-for-16 skid.
Reynolds and rookies Oneil Cruz and Ji-hwan Bae had two hits each for the Pirates.
Pujols hit his 702nd career home run while finishing with two hits and three RBIs. He raised his career RBI total to 2,214, tying Babe Ruth for second all-time in MLB behind Hank Aaron (2,297).
HE'S TIED BABE! pic.twitter.com/HeCZr8xK7t
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 2, 2022
Juan Yepez also had two hits for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals lead the season series 12-4, including winning five of six at PNC Park. Since 2014, St. Louis has a 97-62 record against the Pirates.
STL vs PIT Last 10 Games
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/2/22 | Cardinals | Pirates | PIT, 7-5 |
| 10/1/22 | Cardinals | Pirates | STL, 13-3 |
| 9/30/22 | Cardinals | Pirates | STL, 2-1 |
| 9/11/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | STL, 4-3 |
| 9/10/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | STL, 7-5 |
| 9/9/22 | Pirates | Cardinals | PIT, 8-2 |
| 6/15/22 | Cardinals | Pirates | PIT, 6-4 |
| 6/14/22 (2) | Cardinals | Pirates | STL, 9-1 |
| 6/14/22 (1) | Cardinals | Pirates | STL, 3-1 |
| 6/13/22 | Cardinals | Pirates | STL, 7-5 |
Cardinals vs Pirates Prediction
The Cardinals have nothing to play for, but Mikolas will certainly want to enter the postseason on a good note. Let’s ride with him against Keller, who is pitching well but never wins at home.
Pick: Cardinals -175 ML
Sports Writer
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
