St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates 9/23/2017 Free MLB Picks and Predictions

Saturday, September 23, 2017

PNC Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Lance Lynn vs. Gerrit Cole

The St. Louis Cardinals visit PNC Park on Saturday, September 23, 2017 to play the Pittsburgh Pirates. The probable starters are Lance Lynn for the Cardinals and Gerrit Cole for the Pirates.

The opening line for this matchup has St. Louis at -112 and Pittsburgh at +102. The Cardinals have a 77-67-8 over/under record and a 75-77-0 run line mark. The Pirates are 79-74-0 against the run line and have a 60-88-5 over/under record.

Valuable St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals are 77-67-8 against the over/under

The St. Louis Cardinals are 75-77-0 against the run line

Important Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 60-88-5 against the over/under

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 79-74-0 against the run line

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

08/23/17 P Trevor Rosenthal Elbow 60-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

09/03/17 2B Josh Harrison Hand 60-day DL (09/03)
08/27/17 C Francisco Cervelli Quad 10-day DL (08/26)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals have a 80-72 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Lance Lynn has a 11-7 record with an earned run average of 3.09 and a WHIP of 1.19. He has 147 strikeouts over his 180.2 innings pitched and he's given up 142 hits. He allows 7.1 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.76. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.92 and they have given up 457 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .246 against the bullpen and they've struck out 485 hitters and walked 166 batters. As a team, St. Louis allows 8.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.4 batters per nine innings. They are 7th in the league in team earned run average at 3.9. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 1,303 base hits and 590 earned runs. They have allowed 171 home runs this season, ranking them 28th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 453 batters and struck out 1,267. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.4 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.29 and their FIP as a unit is 4.06.

Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .259, good for 14th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .431 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .336, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 15th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Yadier Molina is hitting .276 with an on-base percentage of .315. He has 136 hits this season in 492 at bats with 82 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .445 and an OPS+ of 98. Matt Carpenter is hitting .242 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .386. He has totaled 115 hits and he has driven in 67 men in 475 at bats. His OPS+ is 120 while his slugging percentage is at .446. The Cardinals have 1,334 base hits, including 275 doubles and 185 homers. St. Louis has walked 555 times so far this year and they have struck out 1,266 times as a team. They have left 1,057 runners on base and have a team OPS of .767. They tally 4.78 runs per contest and have totaled 727 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Pittsburgh has a 69-84 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 4.13, Gerrit Cole has a 11-11 record and a 1.23 WHIP. He has 184 strikeouts over the 192 innings he's pitched. He's also given up 184 hits. He allows 8.6 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.16. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.92 and they have given up 488 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .247 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 467 batters and walked 196 opposing hitters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 9.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.9 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 1,382 base knocks and 645 earned runs this season. They have given up 174 home runs this year, which ranks 26th in Major League Baseball. Pittsburgh as a staff has walked 478 hitters and struck out 1,192 batters. They give up a walk 3.2 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.37 while their FIP as a staff is 4.24.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .243, good for 28th in the league. The Pirates hold a .385 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .317, which is good for 22nd in baseball. They rank 27th in MLB with 8.2 hits per contest. Josh Bell comes into this matchup batting .252 with an OBP of .329. He has 131 hits this year along with 83 RBI in 520 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .462 with an OPS+ of 105. Andrew McCutchen is hitting .275 this season and he has an OBP of .359. He has collected 149 hits in 542 at bats while driving in 79 runs. He has an OPS+ of 118 and a slugging percentage of .476. The Pirates as a team have 1,255 base knocks, including 235 doubles and 144 home runs. Pittsburgh has walked 488 times this season and they have struck out 1,143 times. They have had 1,078 runners left on base and have an OPS of .702. They have scored 4.02 runs per contest and totaled 615 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Cardinals -112

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