St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/28/26

The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates play the second game of their 4-game series on Tuesday after a dramatic 9th inning on Monday. The Pirates threw a full bullpen game, shutting out the Cardinals for 8 innings, only to have their closer melt down and give up 4 runs in the 9th to lose the game. That is a tough spot to come back from, and that probably makes this a “stay away” spot for bettors. But if you are playing it, play the Pirates to bounce back and win.

The Pirates will ask a lot of Braxton Ashcraft on Tuesday. Ashcraft was away over the weekend on the bereavement list but is expected to take the ball Tuesday. He will face Kyle Leahy and his 5.63 ERA. This should be a huge edge to the Pirates. While there is some concern over the number of bullpen arms the Pirates used on Monday, most of them threw an inning or less, so that toll might not come due until later in the series. The Pittsburgh bats need to get to work early in this game, and Ashcraft needs to turn in a strong start. I’ll play this game that way.

Cardinals vs Pirates Prediction: Pirates ML (-150) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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