Jesse Schule recommended betting over 6.5 strikeouts for Sonny Gray as a player prop. Schule highlighted the Pirates' league-worst strikeout issues, currently averaging 10 Ks per game. Gray himself has 13 strikeouts through his first 11 innings this year and historically pitches well against Pittsburgh, whose current lineup only hits .235 with 27 Ks in 81 at-bats against him. Cold weather conditions and a low total at 6.5 runs further suggest a pitcher's advantage.

Jesse Schule recommended taking the Pirates' team total under 3.5 runs against St. Louis. His reasoning includes the Pirates' current slump, striking out at the highest rate in MLB, a troubling matchup against Cardinals' starter Sonny Gray who has strong historical numbers against them, and adverse weather conditions expected to suppress scoring. The total run line of 6.5 already suggests a low-scoring pitchers' duel, enhancing Schule's confidence in taking the under for Pittsburgh.

Jesse Schule is leaning toward the Kansas City Royals as a slight home favorite (-112) against Minnesota, highlighting Cole Ragans' strong historical performance against the Twins (career 1.93 ERA in five starts). Ragans also tends to pitch significantly better at home. Schule emphasized the Royals' recent domination at home versus Minnesota, including a four-game sweep in Kansas City last September, and noted they're currently playing better baseball and hitting more effectively than the Twins team that's started slowly at 3-7.

Jesse Schule advised against backing the Pirates in the first five innings, despite ace Paul Skeens pitching. Schule emphasized Pittsburgh's weak recent form, losing six of their last seven games and leading MLB in strikeouts at 10 per game this season, reflecting last year's trend as well. The Pirates are facing a Cardinals lineup in stellar form, ranking third in scoring, batting .297 as a team, and first overall in team batting average and on-base percentage. Schule believes this combination of factors creates a problematic matchup even with Skeens' excellent early-season numbers (1-0, 1.46 ERA, 0.65 WHIP).