St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 4/8/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (-144) Pittsburgh (+120)

PNC Park is the site where the Pittsburgh Pirates (3-7) will try to beat the St. Louis Cardinals (4-5) on Tuesday. The moneyline on this game has the Cardinals at -144 and the Pirates are priced at +120. The over/under is 8. The men taking the mound are Sonny Gray and Paul Skenes.

The Cardinals have accounted for 18 two-baggers as a team and have knocked 14 balls out of the park. St. Louis has a slugging % of .482 and have been called out on strikes 73 times, while drawing a walk on 39 occasions. As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals are compiling 6.9 runs per outing, which has them sitting at 2nd in the league. They have compiled 59 runs batted in as well as 100 base knocks this season, while their batting average is .301. They are sitting with 62 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .380.

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They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.03 and their pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.40. Cardinals pitchers have given up 8 home runs and 61 runs in total (28th in the league). St. Louis has relinquished 82 base knocks (9.0 per 9 innings) and also 55 earned runs. The Cardinals have a team ERA of 6.01 for the season (30th in baseball), and their staff has struck out 67 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 33 opposing hitters and their FIP sits at 4.00 as a team this season.

Cardinals pitchers have entered the game with runners on 12 times as well as having 17 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers are sitting with 8 holds so far this year (9th in the league). The Cardinals relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 50.0% and stepped onto the hill in 12 save situations. They have earned 2 saves over the course of the season and have blown 2 of their 4 chances to save the game. The relief pitchers have inherited 13 runners this season with 53.8% of those runners earned a run for their team. The Cardinals have sent 33 relievers to the hill on the campaign.

The St. Louis Cardinals have accounted for 247 putouts this season, in addition to 100 assists and 2 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .994 which puts them in 3rd in pro baseball, and they have turned 6 double plays. The Cardinals have turned 69.4% of balls in play into outs in their 741 innings, which has them sitting at 20th in pro baseball.

Gray has taken the mound for 1,748 frames and is sitting with 1,739 punch outs during his career. Gray (112-94 mark in his career) has earned a FIP of 3.47 while he has gone up against 7,244 opposing batters during his time in the majors. His ERA is 3.52 (684 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.192. He has allowed 1,499 hits (7.7 hits per nine innings) with 585 walks.

The Pirates have a team SLG% of .296 and they score 3.20 runs per game (27th in baseball). They have recorded 11 doubles, while walking 41 times and scoring 32 runs. Pittsburgh has hit 6 home runs this year to go along with 31 RBIs. They have struck out on 99 occasions (2nd in baseball) and have earned 66 hits. The Pittsburgh Pirates have tallied a team OBP of .290 and a batting average of .197 so far this year.

The Pirates have a WHIP of 1.465 with a FIP of 3.59 as a squad on the year. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 8.50 (85 strikeouts vs 39 free passes). They sit at 27th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 93. They have relinquished 6 HR's and they concede 5.39 runs per 9 innings (25th in baseball). The Pittsburgh pitching staff have yielded 54 runs for the season and come in with a team ERA of 4.99 (50 earned runs conceded).

Pittsburgh has had relief pitchers take the mound in 6 save opportunities and they have recorded 2 saves. They are ranked 26th in the league holding a save percentage of 33.3%, and they have sent 40 bullpen pitchers onto the field for the year. Their relievers have come in 21 times in high leverage situations and on 12 occasions with base runners. Pittsburgh bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 33.3% out of their 18 inherited runners. With 15 save situations, the Pirates have accumulated 9 holds in addition to 4 blown saves.

In 813 innings on the diamond, the Pirates have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 65.2% (29th in baseball). The Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten 10 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .978 (28th in pro baseball). The Pirates have accrued 89 assists, 8 errors and have earned 271 putouts on the season.

Skenes (12-3 career mark) has a 1.92 earned run average while allowing 6.2 hits per nine innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 5.38 and he has gone up against 558 batters during his MLB career. He has given up a total of 31 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 0.924 and being the owner of a FIP of 1.9. During his pro baseball career, Skenes has allowed 100 hits and he has 183 punch outs in 145 innings pitched.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+120)

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