Cardinals vs Pirates Picks and Prediction – 7/24/2024

Beautiful PNC Park will play host to a Wednesday afternoon NL Central Division clash between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Be ready for the baseball season with all of our MLB picks. The Cardinals (53-48) are a game above .500 on the road and trail NL Central Division leading Milwaukee by 4.5 games. Last night, Alec Burleson delivered a run scoring single in the ninth inning to lift St. Louis to a 2-1 road victory against Pittsburgh. 

St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol has yet to name a starting pitcher for the series finale. The Cardinals currently rank in the middle of the pack with a 3.97 ERA and have logged 39 quality starts. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates have won seven of their last ten games and are a game back in the race for the final NL Wild Card spot. During last night’s loss, Pittsburgh scored their only run on a Nick Gonzales single that scored Oneil Cruz. All-Star SP Paul Skenes (6-1) struck out eight batters across eight plus frames and took the loss for the Pirates (51-50), who fell to 25-26 at home.   

Pittsburgh skipper Derek Shelton will give the nod to veteran southpaw Martin Perez (1-5 5.61 ERA) on Wednesday. Through 77 innings, Perez has surrendered 13 long balls and sports an alarming 1.66 WHIP.