St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 9/23/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (+106) Pittsburgh (-128)

The Pittsburgh Pirates (79-77) will go up against the St. Louis Cardinals (76-80) at PNC Park on Wednesday. The moneyline on this contest has St. Louis at +106 while Pittsburgh is sitting at -128. The total is 8.5. The men taking the mound will be Matthew Liberatore and Khristian Curtis.

The Cardinals have earned 225 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 161 baseballs out of the stadium. St. Louis has a slugging % of .382 and have struck out 1,234 times, while drawing a walk on 496 occasions. As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals are scoring 4.5 runs per contest, which has them sitting at 12th in the league. They have accumulated 681 runs batted in and 1,277 hits on the year, while their team batting average sits at .242. They have accumulated 704 runs scored while having a team on-base percentage of .315.

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The Cardinals hold a team ERA of 4.29 on the campaign (22nd in MLB), and the staff has rung up 1,235 hitters. Cardinals pitchers have surrendered 155 home runs in addition to 727 total runs (22nd in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 544 opposing players and their FIP is 4.10 as a unit so far this season. St. Louis has relinquished 1,345 base hits (8.7 per 9 innings) and 665 earned runs. Their K/BB ratio is 2.27 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.36.

Cardinals pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 163 times and also have had 194 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have racked up 96 holds on the year (8th in baseball). The Cardinals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 60.5% and have entered the game in 176 save situations. They have recorded 46 saves on the year and have missed out on 30 of 76 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 237 runners on the season with 40.5% of those runners crossing the plate. The Cardinals have dispatched 532 relievers to the mound this year.

The St. Louis Cardinals have accounted for 4,181 putouts thus far, as well as 1,462 assists and 73 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .987 which is 9th in the majors, and have a total of 149 double plays. The Cardinals have turned 69.0% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 12,543 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting 24th in MLB.

Liberatore (21-38 career win-loss record) sits with a FIP of 4.79 and he has gone up against 2,094 opposing batters in the major leagues. He has allowed 514 base hits (9.6 hits per 9 innings) and has had 166 free passes. His ERA is 4.86 (261 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.408. Liberatore has taken the ball for 483 innings and has earned 420 K's during his career.

The Pirates have a team slugging % of .406 and they have an average of 4.79 runs per game (5th in baseball). They have notched 238 doubles, while getting a free base 551 times and putting up 748 runs. Pittsburgh has knocked in 181 HRs on the campaign as well as 715 RBIs. They have been called out on strikes on 1,452 occasions (4th in baseball) and have recorded 1,363 base hits. The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting with a team on-base percentage of .332 as well as a team batting average of .254 for the year.

The Pittsburgh pitching staff have conceded 719 runs over the course of the season while holding an ERA of 4.19 (648 earned runs conceded). They have conceded 150 home runs and they relinquish 4.65 runs per 9 innings (20th in the league). The Pirates are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.304 in addition to having a FIP of 3.84 as a pitching staff this season. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 9.20 (1,429 strikeouts vs 563 walks). They have a ranking of 12th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 1,252.

Sitting with 139 save situations, the Pirates have tallied 74 holds and 25 blown saves. Pittsburgh has had relief pitchers step onto the mound in 63 save opportunities and they have converted 38 saves. Pittsburgh bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 32.8% out of their 192 inherited runners. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 152 times in high leverage situations and also on 130 occasions with base runners. They rank 20th in baseball holding a save percentage of 60.3%, and they have dispatched 510 relief pitchers onto the field this year.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 126 double plays and have a fielding rate of .983 (26th in MLB). The Pirates have recorded 1,238 assists, 95 errors and have a total of 4,177 putouts on the campaign. Out of their 12,531 innings on the field, the Pirates have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 68.9% (26th in professional baseball).

Curtis (2-0 career record) is the owner of a 4.74 earned run average while allowing 5.3 hits per nine innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 0.91 and he has faced 71 hitters during his career. He has surrendered 9 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.228 and having a FIP of 4.7. Thus far in his career, Curtis has allowed 10 hits while accumulating 10 K's in 17 frames.

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

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-128) and under 8.5 runs

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