Saturday, March 18, 2017

Roger Dean Stadium

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Probable Pitchers: Robert Gsellman vs. Michael Wacha

The New York Mets head to Roger Dean Stadium on Saturday, March 18, 2017 to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in a Spring Training game. The probable pitchers are Robert Gsellman for the Mets and Michael Wacha for the Cardinals.

The opening line for this matchup has New York at +107 and St. Louis at -120. The Mets had a 74-85-3 over/under record and a 76-86-0 run line mark last year, meaning they covered 47% of the time. The Cardinals were 75-87-0 against the run line and had a 83-73-6 over/under record. They covered the spread 46% of the time.

The Mets had a 87-75 record in 2016, including 43-38 away from home. Starting pitcher Robert Gsellman had a 4-2 record with an ERA of 2.42 and a WHIP of 1.28. He had 42 strikeouts over his 44.2 innings pitched and he gave up 42 hits last season. He allowed 8.5 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 2.63. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.53 and they gave up 472 base hits on the year. Teams hit .234 against the bullpen while being struck out 569 times and walking 189 times last season. As a team, New York allowed 8.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.68 batters per nine innings. They were 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.58. The Mets pitchers collectively gave up 1,398 base hits and 575 earned runs. They allowed 152 home runs last season and they allowed 0.9 homers per nine innings as a staff. New York as a pitching staff walked 439 batters and struck out 1,396. They walked 2.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.7 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.27 and their FIP as a unit was 3.57.

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As a team New York batted .246, good for 25th in the league while putting together a .253 average away from home. The Mets held a .417 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .316 which was good for 24th in baseball. They ranked 26th in baseball with 8.28 hits per game. Yoenis Cespedes is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .280 with an on-base percentage of .354. He had 134 hits last season along with 72 runs scored and 86 runs batted in. He struck out 108 times and walked 51 times. Asdrubal Cabrera hit .280 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .336. He totaled 146 hits while scoring 65 runs and he drove in 62. He walked 38 times and struck out on 103 occasions. The Mets had 1,342 hits, including 240 doubles and 218 home runs. They stole 42 bases and were thrown out stealing 18 times. New York walked 517 times last season and they struck out 1,302 times as a unit. They left 1,120 men on base and had a team OPS of .733. They scored 4.14 runs per contest and scored a total of 671 runs last year.

St. Louis had a 38-43 home record and a 86-76 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 5.09, Michael Wacha had a 7-7 record and a 1.48 WHIP last season. He had 114 strikeouts over the 138 innings he pitched during which he gave up 159 hits. He allowed 10.4 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.91. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 3.62 and they gave up 443 base hits on the year. Teams hit .227 against the Cardinals 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 as a team surrendered 1,432 base knocks and 656 earned runs last season. They gave up 159 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. St. Louis as a staff walked 475 hitters and struck out 1,290. They gave up a walk 3 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.32 while their FIP as a staff was 3.88.

As a team, they batted .255, good for 18th in the league while putting together a .253 average at 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 contest. Matt Carpenter comes into this matchup after batting .271 with an OBP of .380. He had 128 hits last year along with 81 runs scored and 68 RBI. He struck out 108 times and walked on 81 occasions. Stephen Piscotty hit .273 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .343. He collected 159 hits while scoring 86 runs and driving in 85. He earned a walk 51 times and punched out 133 times. The Cardinals as a unit had 1,416 base hits, including 300 doubles and 225 homers. They had 35 stolen bases and were thrown out 26 times. St. Louis as a team walked 526 times last year and they struck out 1,318 times. They had 1,113 men left on base and had an OPS of .768. They scored 4.81 runs per game and totaled 779 runs last season.

New York Mets Betting Trends

The New York Mets were 74-85-3 against the over/under last season

The New York Mets were 76-86-0 against the run line 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

Injuries to Watch

New York Mets

No key injuries to report

St. Louis Cardinals

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Cardinals -120

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