Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 5/20/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Cardinals.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (-196) St. Louis (+162)

The St. Louis Cardinals (27-18) will try to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates (24-22) at Busch Stadium on Wednesday. The moneyline on this game has Pittsburgh at -196 while St. Louis is opening at +162. The over/under is 8. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Carmen Mlodzinski and Michael McGreevy.

As a unit, the Pittsburgh Pirates are notching 4.9 runs per contest, which is 7th in the league. They have accumulated 229 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .332. The Pirates have accounted for 68 doubles as a squad and have hit 49 baseballs out of the stadium. They have tallied 220 RBI's as well as 404 hits so far this year, and their team batting average sits at .248. Pittsburgh has a slugging rate of .388 and have been called out on strikes 431 times, while being walked on 187 occasions.

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They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.51 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.23. Pirates pitchers have surrendered 39 home runs and also 211 runs in total (18th in the league). Pittsburgh has surrendered 360 base knocks (7.6 per 9 innings) in addition to 185 earned runs. The Pirates have a team earned run average of 3.88 over the course of the season (11th in the league), and the staff has struck out 421 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 168 batters and their FIP is 3.69 as a team so far this year.

The Pirates have dispatched 160 relievers to the mound so far this season. The relief pitchers have inherited 56 runners on the year with 35.7% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. The bullpen have 27 holds over the course of the season (12th in MLB). Pirates bullpen pitchers have entered the game with runners on 46 times in addition to having 52 appearances in high leverage situations. They have recorded 8 saves on the season and have blown 11 of their 19 chances to get a save. The Pirates relief pitchers have a save rate of 42.1% and stepped onto the hill in 47 save situations.

The Pirates have transformed 70.8% of balls hit into play into outs in their 3,858 innings, ranking them 9th in pro baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates have earned a total of 1,286 putouts this year, as well as 392 assists and 25 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .985 which is 21st in baseball, and have a total of 34 double plays.

Mlodzinski has pitched in 230 frames and has earned 212 punch outs in his career. Mlodzinski (16-19 win-loss record in his career) holds a FIP of 3.43 while he has faced 977 hitters in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.48 (89 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.303. He has given up 220 hits (8.6 hits per 9 innings) with 80 free passes.

The St. Louis Cardinals are sitting with an on-base percentage of .321 in addition to a team batting average of .241 so far this year. They have been rung up on 375 occasions (21st in MLB) and have earned a total of 373 hits. St. Louis has tallied 51 HRs this season as well as 202 RBIs. The Cardinals hold a slugging percentage of .388 and they are scoring 4.52 runs per game (11th in MLB). They have 70 doubles, while taking a walk 158 times and scoring 208 runs.

The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.368 with a FIP of 4.45 as a unit on the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio comes in at 7.20 (330 strikeouts vs 173 free passes). They are sitting at 22nd in MLB as a staff in total hits relinquished with 395. They have surrendered 49 homers and they relinquish 4.44 runs per 9 innings (17th in the league). The St. Louis pitching staff have conceded 205 runs over the course of the season while holding a team ERA of 4.12 (190 earned runs relinquished).

They are ranked 11th in MLB with a save percentage of 68.0%, and they have sent 165 relievers to the mound this year. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 59 times in high leverage situations in addition to 49 occasions with runners on base. Sitting with 68 save situations, the Cardinals have 41 holds in addition to 8 blown saves. St. Louis has called on bullpen pitchers to enter the contest in 25 save opportunities and they have recorded 17 saves. St. Louis relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 36.8% out of their 68 inherited base runners.

The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten 48 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .988 (11th in MLB). The Cardinals have 450 assists, 21 errors and have accumulated 1,246 putouts this season. In 3,738 innings played, the Cardinals are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 70.2% (16th in MLB).

In his career, McGreevy has given up 150 hits while he has earned 112 K's in 169 innings. He has surrendered a total of 64 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.081 and having a FIP of 3.4. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.39 and he has faced 677 opposing batters during his pro baseball career. McGreevy (14-6 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a 3.40 earned run average and has given up 8.0 hits per 9 innings.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-196)

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