St Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/21/2022

Game Time: 6:35 pm ET, Saturday, May 21, 2022

Venue:  PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA 

Where to Watch:  Sportsnet PT

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -135, Pirates +115; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -135, Pirates +115; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -135, Pirates +115; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

 

St Louis Cardinals:  20-18 (2nd place, NL Central)

Pittsburgh Pirates:  16-21 (3rd place, NL Central)

 

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St Louis Cardinals:  4-6 last 10

Pittsburgh Pirates:  5-5 last 10

 

 

 

The Cardinals are coming into this game with a 20-18 record overall and they are 10-10 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games and are coming into this one on a 2 game losing streak. They just lost their 4-game series against the New York Mets 3-1 and they are playing the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Pirates on Saturday. This will be the 2nd game of the series on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Adam Wainwright is the starting pitcher for them on Friday while rookie pitcher Matthew Liberatore is on the mound for them here on Saturday. He is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA this season. This will be his first ever start in the MLB. They scored 15 runs in their last series averaging just under 4 runs scored per game in that span and they allowed 24 runs against them averaging 6 runs allowed per game.

 

The Pirates are coming into this game with a 16-21 record overall and they are 9-10 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a win in their last game which snapped a 2 game losing streak that they were on. They just lost their 3-game series against the Chicago Cubs 2-1 and they are playing the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Cardinals on Saturday. This will be the 2nd game of the series on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Zach Thompson is the starting pitcher for them on Friday while José Quintana will be on the mound for them here on Saturday. He is 1-1 with a 2.19 ERA this season. His team won 5 of their last 6 games this season with him as a starter. In his last start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 1 BB with 5 strikeouts on 3 hits in 7 innings played against the Cincinnati Reds. They scored 3 runs in their last series averaging 1 run scored per game in that span and they allowed 18 runs against them averaging 6 runs allowed per game.

 

The Pirates are coming into this game as an underdog with the current betting odds. The Pirates have not been playing well recently as they just lost their last series to the Cubs, going scoreless in 2 of those games. They have still been winning a few games though and they are going up against a Cardinals team here who has not been playing any better recently, losing 3 of their last 4 games in a series to the Mets. The Pirates have been better at home this season where they are here and they have Quintana starting here who has been very good this season and will give them a good chance to win this game at home. The Cardinals have a rookie starting in this game and he will actually be making his MLB debut here. The Pirates do not have a great lineup but they do play better at home and they will be determined to make this guy collapse on the mound in his first start ever. There is value on the Pirates at home here with this pitching matchup. The best bet here is on the Pirates to win.

 

Cardinals Pirates Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, May 21, 2022 (6:35 pm ET start time) is Pirates 10 Cardinals 2.

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St Louis Cardinals: 141-121 (+14.6 Units) ML in all games. 56-42 (+8.6 Units) ML when the total is 8 to 8.5. 10-5 UNDER when the total is 8 to 8.5.

Pittsburgh Pirates: 96-163 (-23.5 Units) ML in all games. 83-153 (-24.5 Units) ML as an underdog of +100 or higher. 17-11 UNDER as an underdog of +100 or higher.

 

 

St Louis Cardinals:  A. Knizner (C) Ques Fri - Concussion. E. Sosa (SS) Ques Fri - Ankle. T. O'Neill (RF) Mid June - Shoulder.

Pittsburgh Pirates:  J. Marisnick (CF) Mid July - Thumb. K. Newman (SS) Late May - Groin. G. Allen (CF) Out indefinitely - Hamstring.

 

 

 

"The pace of today's game wasn't really pleasant. It's just a matter of get the ball and get back on the mound — let's get going. There's a pace to it and an aggressiveness to it, to keep the infield and outfield engaged, and I need to see more of that." - Oliver Marmol after his team’s loss against the Mets on Thursday.

 

 

"We've gotten down the last few days big, and we can't even do anything because of the fact that we're down. But we've got to figure out how to have better at-bats, and we have to figure out ways to get scoring opportunities." - Derek Shelton after his team’s loss against the Cubs on Tuesday.

 

 

 

Tommy Edman (S) 2B

Brendan Donovan (L) SS

Paul Goldschmidt (R) DH

Nolan Arenado (R) 3B

Juan Yepez (R) LF

Dylan Carlson (S) RF

Albert Pujols (R) 1B

Harrison Bader (R) CF

Andrew Knizner (R) C

 

Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B

Bryan Reynolds (S) CF

Michael Chavis (R) 2B

Daniel Vogelbach (L) DH

Rodolfo Castro (S) SS

Diego Castillo (R) RF

Yoshi Tsutsugo (L) 1B

Tyler Heineman (S) C

Jack Suwinski (L) LF

 

 

Batting Average:  Juan Yepez (.333)

Hits:  Paul Goldschmidt (47)

Home Runs:  Nolan Arenado (9)

RBI:  Nolan Arenado (31)

Stolen Bases:  Harrison Bader (11)

Wins:  Adam Wainwright (4)

Saves:  Giovanny Gallegos (7)

ERA:  Ryan Helsley (0.00)

 

Batting Average:  Tucupita Marcano (.500)

Hits:  Ke'Bryan Hayes (35)

Home Runs:  Daniel Vogelbach (6)

RBI:  Ben Gamel (15)

Stolen Bases:  Ke'Bryan Hayes (4)

Wins:  Dillon Peters (3)

Saves:  David Bednar (8)

ERA:  Max Kranick (0.00)

 

Managers:

St Louis Cardinals: Oliver Marmol (1st season)

Pittsburgh Pirates: Derek Shelton (3rd season)