Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 08/28/25

While not necessarily a game I am rushing to bet from a sides and totals perspective, I do lean towards a Pirates win today as they take on the Cardinals. Pittsburgh has won 2 of the first 3 games of this series, and I give them the starting pitching edge in Thursday’s matchup, as well. Braxton Ashcraft is set to start for the Pirates, marking his 21st appearance and 5th start of the season. Through his first 46.2 innings of work the right-hander has produced 43 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA. He was stretched out to 5 innings of work in each of his last 2 starts, both resulting in productive outings with only 1 earned run allowed in that span.

Miles Mikolas and his 5.17 ERA are set to start for the Cardinals in this game. Mikolas has fallen off as a top-end starter for this Cardinals squad and is now more of an innings eater regardless of production. He is essentially a modern-day Jordan Lyles. Mikolas struggles to miss bats, and his last start was dreadful, failing to escape the 3rd inning while allowing 10 hits along the way.

Pirates vs Cardinals prediction: Pirates ML (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that price.

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