St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates 8/18/2017 Free MLB Picks and Predictions

Friday, August 18, 2017

PNC Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Carlos Martinez vs. Trevor Williams

PNC Park is the site of the matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, August 18, 2017. The probable starting pitchers are Carlos Martinez for the Cardinals and Trevor Williams for the Pirates.

St. Louis opens at -123 while Pittsburgh opens at +113. The Cardinals have a 61-52-7 over/under record and a 57-63-0 run line mark. The Pirates are 62-58-0 against the run line and have a 48-67-5 over/under record.

Valuable St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals are 61-52-7 against the over/under

The St. Louis Cardinals are 57-63-0 against the run line

Important Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 48-67-5 against the over/under

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 62-58-0 against the run line

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

08/06/17 P Kevin Siegrist Forearm 10-day DL (08/06)
04/10/17 P Alex Reyes Elbow 60-day DL (03/30)

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

08/16/17 RF Gregory Polanco Hamstring 10-day DL (08/13)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals have a 61-59 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Carlos Martinez has a 9-9 record with an earned run average of 3.56 and a WHIP of 1.20. He has 165 strikeouts over his 154.1 innings pitched and he's given up 130 hits. He allows 7.6 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 3.83. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.89 and they have given up 362 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .247 against the bullpen and they've struck out 378 hitters and walked 130 batters. As a team, St. Louis allows 8.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings. They are 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.86. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 1,027 base hits and 462 earned runs. They have allowed 131 home runs this season, ranking them 25th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 363 batters and struck out 987. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.2 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.29 and their FIP as a unit is 4.03.

Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .260, good for 10th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .426 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .335, which is good for 7th in baseball. They rank 12th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Matt Carpenter is hitting .249 with an on-base percentage of .383. He has 98 hits this season in 394 at bats with 57 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .444 and an OPS+ of 117. Jedd Gyorko is hitting .269 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .339. He has totaled 97 hits and he has driven in 56 men in 361 at bats. His OPS+ is 106 while his slugging percentage is at .454. The Cardinals have 1,054 hits, including 223 doubles and 139 home runs. St. Louis has walked 430 times so far this season and they have struck out 993 times as a unit. They have left 827 men on base and have a team OPS of .761. They score 4.65 runs per contest and have scored a total of 558 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Pittsburgh has a 58-62 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 4.19, Trevor Williams has a 5-5 record and a 1.27 WHIP. He has 83 strikeouts over the 111.2 innings he's pitched. He's also given up 107 hits. He allows 8.6 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 3.8. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.87 and they have given up 385 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .249 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 362 batters and walked 146 opposing hitters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 9.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.7 batters per nine innings. They are 12th in the league in team earned run average at 4.2. The Pirates pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,099 base knocks and 501 earned runs this season. They have given up 135 home runs this year, which ranks 24th in Major League Baseball. Pittsburgh as a staff has walked 346 hitters and struck out 917 batters. They give up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.7 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.35 while their FIP as a staff is 4.16.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .245, good for 25th in the league. The Pirates hold a .387 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .321, which is good for 17th in baseball. They rank 25th in MLB with 8.3 hits per contest. Andrew McCutchen comes into this matchup batting .286 with an OBP of .380. He has 120 hits this year along with 72 RBI in 419 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .511 with an OPS+ of 132. Josh Harrison is hitting .275 this season and he has an OBP of .346. He has collected 117 hits in 426 at bats while driving in 39 runs. He has an OPS+ of 100 and a slugging percentage of .415. The Pirates as a unit have 998 base hits, including 187 doubles and 111 homers. Pittsburgh has walked 399 times this year and they have struck out on 865 occasions. They have had 859 men left on base and have an OPS of .708. They have scored 4.18 runs per game and totaled 502 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Cardinals/Pirates MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Cardinals -123

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