Cardinals-Pirates prediction: Picks, odds on Sunday, June 4

The St. Louis Cardinals (25-34) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (30-27) will wrap their three-game divisional series on Sunday, June 4. First pitch from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is set for 11:35 a.m. ET and the game will air on Peacock. St. Louis will send Miles Mikolas to the mound (4-1, 3.75 ERA), while Pittsburgh counters with Rich Hill (4-5, 4.76 ERA).

The Cardinals are the -150 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Pirates are +130 home underdogs, and the run total is set at nine. St. Louis will go on the road to take on the Texas Rangers in a three-game set beginning Monday. Pittsburgh stays at home and will welcome the Oakland Athletics to town for a three-game series starting Monday.

Cardinals

Out: RP Jake Woodford (shoulder), LF Lars Nootbaar (back), LF Tyler O'Neill (back), CF Dylan Carlson (ankle)

Pirates

Out: 1B Ji Man Choi (Achilles)

Miles Mikolas vs. Rich Hill

Mikolas will be starting his 13th game of the season. He is coming off back-to-back outings where he didn't allow an earned run. Most recently, Mikolas pitched eight innings against the Kansas City Royals and allowed only three hits. He struck out 10 and walked one to earn his fourth win of the season.

Hill will be making his 12th start of the season. The 43-year-old southpaw had a rough end to May as he allowed 11 combined earned runs between his last two starts of the month. Hill pitched six innings and allowed six earned on nine hits last time out, striking out three, walking one and earning his fifth loss of the year.

The first two games of this series saw 12 and seven runs scored, respectively. The four previous games ended with five, three, nine and nine runs. The Cardinals have scored three or fewer runs in eight of their last nine games. The presence of Hill and his lack of consistent control on the mound makes the over feel like it will hit in a game that St. Louis needs to win.

Pick: Over 9

St. Louis has won the last five games that Mikolas has started, while Pittsburgh has lost four of the last five games that Hill has taken the mound. The Pirates have won four games in a row, but the last game that Hill started saw their opponents score 14 runs. It looked like the Cardinals had turned around their dismal start to the season, and they need a win on Sunday to avoid a bad divisional sweep.

Pick: Cardinals

  
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