Free Sports Game Preview and Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Monday, June 30, 2025 6:40 PM
Play: Money Line: -101 St. Louis Cardinals
The Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals will open up their series in this one. The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off of a 12-1 win against the New York Mets on Sunday. Pittsburgh completed the sweep against New York and will look to bring that momentum in this series with the Cardinals. For St. Louis, they're only 2.5 games back of the Cubs, this is a series they need. Andrew Heaney will get the start in this one. Andrew Heaney has been not up to par in his career when going against the St. Louis Cardinals, putting up a 9.60 ERA with a 0-2 record in 3 starts. Hard to trust Heaney who doesn't have the velo to get himself out of trouble when it brews. Erick Fedde gets nod for the St. Louis Cardinals in this one. Fedde has been pitching decently with a 3-7 record and a 4.11 ERA with 57 strikeouts.He has been excellent when pitching against the Pittsburgh Pirates, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.18 ERA and 15 strikeouts. Ke'Bryan Hayes, Adam Frazier, Spencer Horwitz, Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz, Jared Triolo, Tommy Pham, Andrew McCutchen have combined to go 3 for 25 when taking on Erick Fedde. The Pittsburgh Pirates have gone 9-20 when playing NL-Central opponents in their last 29. The Pittsburgh Pirates are 18-30 when taking on a team with a winning record. Cardinals are 7-3 in their last 10 taking on the Pirates. Pittsburgh's offense has been performing above expectation and I expect some regression. This is a team that is averaging 3.7 runs per game and I expect them to come back down to earth. Fedde has the stuff to get them back into check and should dominate this on-paper weak lineup. Good spot to back the Cardinals. Take St. Louis to win the first game of this big NL Central series.