4 hours ago 1

Pirates at Cardinals Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for May 5

It is Monday, May 5, and the Pirates (12-23) are in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals (16-19). Carmen Mlodzinski is slated to take the mound for Pittsburgh against Miles Mikolas for St. Louis.

Pittsburgh has lost four straight games and seven of the past eight, including an 0-3 weekend at home against San Diego. St. Louis took two of three against the New York Mets over the weekend, including a sweep of a doubleheader yesterday, which leaves the Cardinals a little vulnerable against their NL Central opponent.

Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.

Game details & how to watch Pirates at Cardinals

Date: Monday, May 5, 2025
Time: 7:45 PM EST
Site: Busch Stadium
City: St. Louis, MO
Network/Streaming: SNP, FDSNMW

Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.

Odds for the Pirates at the Cardinals

The latest odds as of Monday:

Moneyline: Pirates (+125), Cardinals (-149)
Spread: Cardinals -1.5
Total: 8.0 runs

Probable starting pitchers for Pirates at Cardinals

Pitching matchup for May 5, 2025: Carmen Mlodzinski vs. Miles Mikolas
- Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski, (1-3, 6.58 ERA)
  Last outing: 4.0 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 1 Walk, and 4 Strikeouts
- Cardinals: Miles Mikolas, (1-2, 4.66 ERA)
  Last outing: 5.1 Innings Pitched, 0 Earned Runs Allowed, 3 Hits Allowed, 0 Walks, and 4 Strikeouts

Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!

Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Pirates and the Cardinals

Rotoworld Best Bet

Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans Oneil Cruz to steal a base:

“Oneil Cruz was the MLB’s stolen bags leader until this weekend, but there is still plenty of time to regain that status. Cruz had two stolen bases on Friday, but those are the only two in the last eight games. In that span, Cruz has drawn 10 walks, 9 nine strikeouts, and 5 hits, so there have been opportunities. That, and he hasn’t been caught stealing in 34 straight attempts. This is a divisional opponent that isn’t doing well either, so I like the value game-by-game in this series for Cruz to steal a base.”

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Monday’s game between the Pirates and the Cardinals:

Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the St. Louis Cardinals on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Pittsburgh Pirates at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 8.0.

Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC

Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Pirates at Cardinals

Last season with Miles Mikolas starting NL Central home games betting the Cardinals on the Money Line was up 1.97 units
In his last 5 starts on the mound the Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas has an ERA of 5.20
It has been 4 games since the Pirates last covered the Run Line

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff: