St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Picks and Predictions May 7th 2025

Sonny Gray Aims for Redemption as Cardinals Eye Sweep of Struggling Pirates

After his roughest outing of the year, Sonny Gray is set to take the mound Wednesday afternoon looking to right the ship for himself and continue the St. Louis Cardinals‘ hottest stretch of the season. Hosting the slumping Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cardinals will go for a three-game sweep and their fifth straight win.

Gray Looks to Reclaim Form

Sonny Gray (3-1, 4.12 ERA) endured his first loss of the season last Friday against the New York Mets, surrendering a season-high nine hits, including a two-run homer, and issuing three walks over just 4 1/3 innings. Despite fanning six, Gray admitted to overthinking his pitch selection in key moments.

Stats, schedules, and more—it's all here for the top MLB baseball teams.

“I think I was probably trying to be too cute there in that one… trying to overthink it, or do something, and it wasn’t right.”
— Sonny Gray, Cardinals Pitcher

Prior to his last two starts, Gray had been sharp, boasting 29 strikeouts and just four walks across five outings. But that balance has shifted of late—he’s now walked six and struck out 10 over his last two appearances. He’ll need to get back to limiting free passes and minimizing damage as he faces a Pittsburgh lineup starved for offense.

“You try to limit damage, not give any free passes… I don’t think I did either one of those.”
— Sonny Gray

Gray has performed solidly against the Pirates throughout his career, holding a 6-4 record with a 4.02 ERA across 13 appearances.

Pirates Pin Hopes on Keller Amid Offensive Drought

Mitch Keller (1-3, 4.38 ERA) will start for Pittsburgh as the Pirates try to snap a six-game losing streak, their longest of the season. Keller has been serviceable in 2024 but hasn’t delivered the kind of dominance Pittsburgh needs given its anemic offense. In his last outing against the Padres, Keller allowed five runs (four earned) across five innings.

“Besides the home run, I gave up a bunch of broken-bat singles, weak contact… I’m not too displeased about where I was throwing the ball.”
— Mitch Keller, Pirates Pitcher

Keller has a 3.38 ERA in 14 career starts against the Cardinals and has performed reasonably well at Busch Stadium (3.62 ERA in seven starts), but he’ll need help from his offense—a rare occurrence this season.

Betting on the NL Central?

Make Smart Choices With Expert Baseball Picks

Get Started!

Pirates’ Bats Continue to Falter

Pittsburgh enters Wednesday’s game with the second-fewest runs scored in MLB, just 118 through 36 games, outpacing only the Colorado Rockies. Their lack of run production has left their pitching staff with little margin for error, exemplified on Tuesday when ace Paul Skenes received just one run of support in a 2-1 loss.

Your Guide To Better Betting Starts With The Best Handicappers.

Ke’Bryan Hayes, who recorded his 500th career hit and the team’s lone RBI in that game, stressed the need for the lineup to step up.

“Not only just for (Keller), just for everybody… We’ve just gotta pick them up and score runs.”
— Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates Infielder

The pressure is mounting for Pittsburgh’s offense to find answers, whether through walks, timely hits, or sheer persistence.