Game of The Day 5/19/2026

Pittsburgh Pirates(-1.5) @ St. Louis Cardinals

DK +153

FD +160

MLB Games of the Day Season Record: 35-39-0

MLB.com

The St. Louis Cardinals so far have taken all 4 of the games that they have played against the Cardinals. The Cardinals have had a great start to the year but I wonder how sustainable it is in the long run. They are 6-1 in extra inning games and 10-3 in one run games. That's a razor thin margin and Baseball Reference's PythagoreanWL formula has them as a .500 ball club. A 27-19 record with a +3 run differential tells the tale of the tape. I expect the Pirates to bounce back from getting swept by a red hot Phillies team with Mitch Keller toeing the rubber. For reference, the Pirates are 24-23 with a +18 run differential and a PythagoreanWL of 25-22. I think over the course of the season we see them emerge as a strong contender, as they have less extreme records of 3-5 and 6-6 in extra innings and one run games respectively.

Matthew Libertore is a fine 5th starter. He's been getting hit harder lately, getting tagged for 4 runs against the A's and 5 against the Mariners and he can seemingly be a remedy for a Pirates offense that got shut down by Christopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler on back to back days.

All in all, I think Pittsburgh is better than St. Louis, and we see that quality emerge in my pick for the Game of the Day.

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