Wednesday, March 15, 2017

CenturyLink Sports Complex

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Probable Pitchers: Mike Leake vs. Tyler Duffey

The St. Louis Cardinals head CenturyLink Sports Complex on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 to take on the Minnesota Twins in a Spring Training game. The probable pitchers are Mike Leake for the Cardinals and Tyler Duffey for the Twins.

The opening line for this matchup has St. Louis at +100 and Minnesota at -120. The Cardinals had a 83-73-6 over/under record and a 75-87-0 run line mark last year, meaning they covered 46% of the time. The Twins were 83-79-0 against the run line and had a 95-59-8 over/under record. They covered the spread 51% of the time.

The Cardinals had a 86-76 record in 2016, including 48-33 away from home. Starting pitcher Mike Leake had a 9-12 record with an ERA of 4.69 and a WHIP of 1.32. He had 125 strikeouts over his 176.2 innings pitched and he gave up 203 hits last season. He allowed 10.3 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.83. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.62 and they gave up 443 base hits on the year. Teams hit .227 against the bullpen while being struck out 506 times and walking 190 times last season. As a team, St. Louis allowed 8.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.02 batters per nine innings. They were 12th in the league in team earned run average at 4.08. The Cardinals pitchers collectively gave up 1,432 base hits and 656 earned runs. They allowed 159 home runs last season and they allowed 1.1 homers per nine innings as a staff. St. Louis as a pitching staff walked 475 batters and struck out 1,290. They walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.32 and their FIP as a unit was 3.88.

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As a team St. Louis batted .255, good for 18th in the league while putting together a .257 average away from home. The Cardinals held a .442 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .325 which was good for 11th in baseball. They ranked 13th in baseball with 8.73 hits per game. Matt Carpenter is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .271 with an on-base percentage of .380. He had 128 hits last season along with 81 runs scored and 68 runs batted in. He struck out 108 times and walked 81 times. Stephen Piscotty hit .273 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .343. He totaled 159 hits while scoring 86 runs and he drove in 85. He walked 51 times and struck out on 133 occasions. The Cardinals had 1,416 hits, including 300 doubles and 225 home runs. They stole 35 bases and were thrown out stealing 26 times. St. Louis walked 526 times last season and they struck out 1,318 times as a unit. They left 1,113 men on base and had a team OPS of .768. They scored 4.81 runs per contest and scored a total of 779 runs last year.

Minnesota had a 30-51 home record and a 59-103 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 6.43, Tyler Duffey had a 9-12 record and a 1.50 WHIP last season. He had 114 strikeouts over the 133 innings he pitched during which he gave up 167 hits. He allowed 11.3 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 4.73. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 4.63 and they gave up 613 base hits on the year. Teams hit .271 against the Twins bullpen while being struck out 536 times and walking 198 times last season. As a team, Minnesota allowed 10.09 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.43 batters per nine innings. They were 29th in the league in team earned run average at 5.08. The Twins pitchers as a team surrendered 1,617 base knocks and 814 earned runs last season. They gave up 221 home runs last year and they gave up 1.4 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Minnesota as a staff walked 479 hitters and struck out 1,191. They gave up a walk 3 times per 9 innings while they struck out 7.4 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.45 while their FIP as a staff was 4.57.

As a team, they batted .251, good for 21st in the league while putting together a .251 average at home. The Twins held a .421 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .316 which was good for 22nd in baseball. They ranked 17th in baseball with 8.7 hits per contest. Brian Dozier comes into this matchup after batting .268 with an OBP of .340. He had 165 hits last year along with 104 runs scored and 99 RBI. He struck out 138 times and walked on 61 occasions. Joe Mauer hit .261 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .363. He collected 129 hits while scoring 68 runs and driving in 49. He earned a walk 79 times and punched out 93 times. The Twins as a unit had 1,409 base hits, including 288 doubles and 200 homers. They had 91 stolen bases and were thrown out 32 times. Minnesota as a team walked 513 times last year and they struck out 1,426 times. They had 1,124 men left on base and had an OPS of .738. They scored 4.46 runs per game and totaled 722 runs last season.

St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals were 83-73-6 against the over/under last season

The St. Louis Cardinals were 75-87-0 against the run line last season

Minnesota Twins Betting Trends

The Minnesota Twins were 95-59-8 against the over/under last season

The Minnesota Twins were 83-79-0 against the run line last season

Injuries to Watch

St. Louis Cardinals

02/20/17 P Alex Reyes Elbow out for season

Minnesota Twins

03/11/17 P Trevor May Arm out indefinitely

Josh's Pick: Take the Twins -120

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