• Paul Skenes makes his first post-All-Star Game start on Tuesday against St Louis
• The Cardinals counter with veteran righty Lance Lynn
• See the St Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates odds, predictions, and best player props to bet for July 23

Sensational rookie Paul Skenes takes the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates (51-49, 25-25 home) on Tuesday as the Bucs host the St Louis Cardinals (52-48, 26-26 away) at PNC Park at 6:40 pm ET in the second of a three-game set.

Facing St Louis veteran Lance Lynn, Pittsburgh is a sizable favorite in Tuesday’s Cardinals vs Pirates odds.

St Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Odds

The Pirates are -185 on the moneyline in Tuesday’s MLB odds with the Redbirds coming back at +154. On the runline, Pittsburgh is priced at +114 to win by multiple runs.

The run total is sitting at just 7.5 but with the over favored at -120.

Odds as of July 23 at DraftKings. Claim a bonus from the best MLB betting apps today. 

The Pirates won the opening game of the series on Monday, taking a 2-1 decision on the back of a seven-inning gem from Mitch Keller.

With the win, Pittsburgh moved within half a game of the Mets for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League, and within one game of the Cardinals, who hold the second Wild Card.

St Louis and Pittsburgh are five and six games back of Milwaukee, respectively, for the NL Central lead. The Cardinals are currently +500 to win the Central in the MLB division odds with the Pirates way back at +1700.

Lance Lynn vs Paul Skenes

Tuesday will be Skenes’ second career start against the Cardinals. Skenes, the runaway favorite in the NL Rookie of the Year odds, held St Louis scoreless over 6.1 innings back on June 11 during a 2-1 Pittsburgh victory. The rookie righty racked up eight Ks while allowing just five hits and no walks.

Skenes’ final start before the All-Star break was his best yet, pitching a seven-inning no-hitter with 11 Ks and just one walk in a 1-0 win over the Brewers.

He doesn’t have enough innings to qualify for the MLB leaderboards but, if he did, Skenes would sit first in ERA (1.90), second in strikeout percentage (34.9%), and tied for second in WHIP (0.92). He’s already third in the NL Cy Young odds behind Chris Sale and Zack Wheeler.

After wasting a solid effort from Andre Pallante yesterday (6.0 IP, 3H, 1R), the Cardinals will be hoping for another decent outing from Lynn. There’s been more good than bad this year from the two-time All-Star, and he entered the break on a relatively high note, going 6.0 innings in an 11-3 win over the Cubs, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts.

The outing previous, however, was arguably the worst of his career. Lynn allowed 11 runs (ten earned) in just 2.2 innings against the Nationals, giving up nine hits and four walks. With that outing doing the bulk of the damage, the 37-year-old now has a 5.36 ERA on the road this season.

In his first start against Pittsburgh this year, Lynn lasted 4.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks with five Ks.

Cardinals vs Pirates Predictions & Picks

Despite having just 11 career starts on his resume, it already feels fair to say that Skenes is the most dominant pitcher in the league today. And the scariest part is that he’s getting better. He hasn’t suffered a loss yet in his nascent career and I don’t expect him to take his first on Tuesday.

Lynn, who finished top-six in Cy Young voting from 2019 to 2021, is still capable of solid outings, so I’m not going to go overboard backing the Pirates, but there are a trio of Skenes-centric props I’m taking, including a massive +2100 longshot on Skenes to throw five hit-less innings.

STL vs PIT picks:

• Pirates to score first (-125 at  DraftKings)
• Skenes under 4.5 hits allowed (-110 at DraftKings)
• Skenes to throw a no-hitter through 5.0 innings (+2100 at FanDuel)

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