Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 7/4/24, 9:03 AM  by Bill Christy in MLB Picks

The St. Louis Cardinals (44-41) have traded wins for losses over their last 9 games. This includes a split through 2 games of their 3-games series with the Pittsburgh Pirates (41-44). 4-3 over their last 7 games, the Pirates are looking to win their 2nd series of their last 3. The Cards took game one on the back of a grand slam by Nolan Gorman. In game two, the Pirates used an Oneil Cruz RBI single to walk off the win the bottom of the 10th. Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.50) will be called upon to try to get the Cardinals the series win. He threw 5.1 innings of shutout work against the Cincinnati Reds in his last start. This was a promising bounce back start for him after he allowed 5 runs on 7 hits against the Giants in his previous start. Martin Perez (1-4, 5.28) will be the starter for the Pirates in game three. He was shelled for 6 runs on 8 hits in just 4 innings against the Braves in his last start. Neither lineup has been setting the world on fire this year as both teams have combined batting averages below the league average. On paper, these teams are very similar in most statistical categories with the one glaring difference is the Pirates ranking 28th in slugging percentage.