St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates 8/19/2017 Free MLB Picks and Predictions

Saturday, August 19, 2017

PNC Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Michael Wacha vs. Chad Kuhl

The St. Louis Cardinals visit PNC Park on Saturday, August 19, 2017 to play the Pittsburgh Pirates. The probable starters are Michael Wacha for the Cardinals and Chad Kuhl for the Pirates.

The opening line for this matchup has St. Louis at -105 and Pittsburgh at -105. The Cardinals have a 62-52-7 over/under record and a 58-63-0 run line mark. The Pirates are 62-59-0 against the run line and have a 49-67-5 over/under record.

Valuable St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals are 62-52-7 against the over/under

The St. Louis Cardinals are 58-63-0 against the run line

Important Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 49-67-5 against the over/under

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 62-59-0 against the run line

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

08/18/17 P Trevor Rosenthal Elbow 10-day DL (08/18)
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

08/17/17 C Francisco Cervelli Hand 10-day DL (08/14)
08/16/17 RF Gregory Polanco Hamstring 10-day DL (08/13)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals have a 62-59 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Michael Wacha has a 9-5 record with an earned run average of 3.85 and a WHIP of 1.32. He has 116 strikeouts over his 121.2 innings pitched and he's given up 122 hits. He allows 9 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 3.53. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.87 and they have given up 370 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .248 against the bullpen and they've struck out 382 hitters and walked 134 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 3.89. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 1,042 base hits and 469 earned runs. They have allowed 132 home runs this season, ranking them 26th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 368 batters and struck out 991. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.2 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.30 and their FIP as a unit is 4.04.

Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .261, good for 7th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .428 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .336, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 11th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Matt Carpenter is hitting .248 with an on-base percentage of .383. He has 99 hits this season in 399 at bats with 57 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .441 and an OPS+ of 115. Jedd Gyorko is hitting .273 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .342. He has totaled 100 hits and he has driven in 57 men in 366 at bats. His OPS+ is 109 while his slugging percentage is at .464. The Cardinals have 1,069 hits, including 223 doubles and 141 home runs. St. Louis has walked 435 times so far this season and they have struck out 1,004 times as a unit. They have left 835 men on base and have a team OPS of .765. They score 4.7 runs per contest and have scored a total of 569 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Pittsburgh has a 58-63 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 4.64, Chad Kuhl has a 5-8 record and a 1.44 WHIP. He has 102 strikeouts over the 120.1 innings he's pitched. He's also given up 121 hits. He allows 9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 3.92. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.99 and they have given up 393 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .251 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 366 batters and walked 148 opposing hitters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 9.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.7 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.26. The Pirates pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,114 base knocks and 512 earned runs this season. They have given up 137 home runs this year, which ranks 23rd in Major League Baseball. Pittsburgh as a staff has walked 351 hitters and struck out 928 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 4.17.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .247, good for 22nd in the league. The Pirates hold a .389 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .323, which is good for 16th in baseball. They rank 24th in MLB with 8.4 hits per contest. Andrew McCutchen comes into this matchup batting .291 with an OBP of .384. He has 123 hits this year along with 72 RBI in 423 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .515 with an OPS+ of 134. Josh Harrison is hitting .278 this season and he has an OBP of .349. He has collected 120 hits in 431 at bats while driving in 41 runs. He has an OPS+ of 102 and a slugging percentage of .425. The Pirates as a unit have 1,013 base hits, including 190 doubles and 112 homers. Pittsburgh has walked 404 times this year and they have struck out on 869 occasions. They have had 869 men left on base and have an OPS of .711. They have scored 4.21 runs per game and totaled 509 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Cardinals -105

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