St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Picks and Prediction for Thursday, September 24, 2026

On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, with the opening pitch scheduled for 12:35 PM ET and televised on MLB.TV. St. Louis is 76-81, including 38-38 on the road, and sits fourth in the NL Central after a 2-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Pirates are 80-77, third in the division and 43-36 at home after winning five straight. Both clubs have been eliminated from playoff contention. Let’s break down the matchup with our free MLB picks.

St. Louis Cardinals Trying to Find More Offense

St. Louis has lost four of its last five games, with the lone victory coming 5-3 against Washington on Sunday. The Cardinals were then held scoreless in Tuesday’s 2-0 loss at Pittsburgh. Alec Burleson has been the most productive regular hitter, batting .280 with 23 home runs, 111 RBI and an .808 OPS. Jordan Walker has supplied more power with 28 homers and 100 RBI while batting .273. Ivan Herrera owns a .356 on-base percentage with 18 home runs, while JJ Wetherholt has 17 homers and 14 stolen bases.

The Cardinals are batting .241 with 704 runs, 161 home runs, a .314 on-base percentage and a .380 slugging percentage, ranking 20th in MLB in batting average. St. Louis has a 4.28 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a .253 opponent batting average, placing 21st in team ERA. The pitching staff has allowed 155 home runs while recording 1,239 strikeouts. Defensively, the Cardinals rank tied for seventh with a .987 fielding percentage and have committed 74 errors in 157 games.

Injuries: Everson Pereira (out), Blaze Jordan (out), Joshua Baez (out), Hunter Dobbins (out), Max Rajcic (out).

Pittsburgh Pirates Riding a Five-Game Winning Streak

Pittsburgh has won five consecutive games, including Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over St. Louis and a three-game sweep of Kansas City. Bryan Reynolds is batting .262 with 17 home runs, 71 RBI and a .789 OPS, while Brandon Lowe leads Pittsburgh with 33 homers and 93 RBI. Nick Gonzales has a team-best .302 average with a .365 on-base percentage. Oneil Cruz has added 20 home runs, 67 RBI and 28 stolen bases, while Ryan O’Hearn has 18 homers and 74 RBI.

The Pirates rank fourth in MLB with a .254 team batting average and have scored 750 runs with 181 home runs. Pittsburgh also owns a .331 on-base percentage and .405 slugging percentage. The pitching staff ranks 17th with a 4.16 ERA while posting a 1.30 WHIP and holding opponents to a .237 average. Pittsburgh pitchers have recorded 1,443 strikeouts and allowed 150 home runs. The Pirates have committed 95 errors with a .983 fielding percentage, tied for 24th in MLB.

Injuries: Isaac Mattson (out), Esmerlyn Valdez (out), Braxton Ashcraft (out), Mitch Keller (out), Endy Rodriguez (out).

Pitching Matchup

St. Louis Cardinals - Kyle Leahy

Kyle Leahy gets the start for St. Louis with a 10-5 record, 3.65 ERA, and 1.34 WHIP. The right-hander has worked 138 innings, allowing 144 hits and 15 home runs. Leahy has struck out 129 batters against 41 walks.

Pittsburgh Pirates - Paul Skenes

Paul Skenes starts for Pittsburgh with a 10-11 record, 3.91 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 168 innings. Skenes has allowed 143 hits and 19 home runs while striking out 192 and walking 47. 

St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Game Pick

• Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh is the pick behind Skenes and an offense that has produced better season numbers than St. Louis. The Pirates are batting .254 with a .331 on-base percentage and 750 runs, compared with a .241 average, .314 on-base percentage and 704 runs for the Cardinals. Pittsburgh has also won five straight and held St. Louis scoreless Tuesday. Skenes’ 1.13 WHIP and 192 strikeouts add another advantage, while Pittsburgh’s 43-36 home record gives more reason to take the Pirates on Thursday.

St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Over/Under Pick

• Under

The play is under. Skenes has a 1.13 WHIP with 192 strikeouts in 168 innings, while Leahy has a 3.65 ERA and has allowed only 15 home runs across 138 innings. St. Louis has struggled to generate runs recently, scoring nine total across its last four games and getting shut out by Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Cardinals also have a .380 team slugging percentage. Pittsburgh has been scoring well during its winning streak, but the starting pitching matchup creates conditions for a lower-scoring game.