St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets 3/31/2018 Free MLB Picks and Predictions

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Citi Field

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Michael Wacha vs. Jacob deGrom

The St. Louis Cardinals visit Citi Field on Saturday, March 31, 2018 to play the New York Mets. The probable starters are Michael Wacha for the Cardinals and Jacob deGrom for the Mets.

The opening line for this matchup has St. Louis at +139 and New York at -149. The Cardinals had a 81-73-8 over/under record and a 75-87-0 run line mark last season. The Mets were 73-89-0 against the run line and had a 90-60-12 over/under record.

Valuable St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals were 81-73-8 against the over/under last year

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

Important New York Mets Betting Trends

The New York Mets were 90-60-12 against the over/under last year

The New York Mets were 73-89-0 against the run line last season

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

03/29/18 P Alex Reyes Elbow 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Adam Wainwright Hamstring 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Luke Gregerson Hamstring 10-day DL (03/26)

Key New York Mets Injuries

03/30/18 1B Dominic Smith Quad 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 3B David Wright Shoulder 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Jason Vargas Hand 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 LF Michael Conforto Shoulder 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Rafael Montero Elbow 60-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 SS T.J. Rivera Elbow 60-day DL (03/26)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals had a 83-79 overall record last season. Starting pitcher Michael Wacha had a 12-9 record with an earned run average of 4.13 and a WHIP of 1.36. He had 158 strikeouts over his 165.2 innings pitched and he gave up 170 hits. He allowed 9.2 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.63. The bullpen had an earned run average of 3.81 and they gave up 493 base hits on the year. Teams hit .242 against the bullpen while striking out 530 hitters and walking 181 batters. As a team, St. Louis allowed 8.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.4 batters per nine innings. They were 10th in the league in team earned run average at 4.01. The Cardinals pitchers collectively gave up 1,393 base hits and 646 earned runs last year. They allowed 183 home runs last season, ranking them 26th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff walked 493 batters and struck out 1,351. They walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.4 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.30 and their FIP as a unit was 4.09.

Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis hit .256, good for 15th in the league. The Cardinals held a .426 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .334, which was good for 7th in baseball. They ranked 17th in MLB with 8.7 hits per game. Dexter Fowler hit .264 with an on-base percentage of .363 last year. He had 111 hits last season in 420 at bats with 64 runs batted in. He had a slugging percentage of .488 and an OPS+ of 122. Marcell Ozuna hit .312 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .376. He totaled 191 hits and he drove in 124 men in 613 at bats. His OPS+ was 145 while his slugging percentage was at .548. The Cardinals had 1,402 hits last season, including 284 doubles and 196 home runs. St. Louis walked 593 times last year and they struck out 1,348 times as a unit. They left 1,118 men on base and had a team OPS of .760. They scored 4.7 runs per contest and scored a total of 761 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

New York had a 70-92 overall mark last year. With an earned run average of 3.53, Jacob deGrom had a 15-10 record and a 1.19 WHIP. He had 239 strikeouts over the 201.1 innings he pitched. He also gave up 180 hits. He allowed 8 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.5. The bullpen had an earned run average of 4.82 and they gave up 577 base hits on the year. Teams hit .256 against the Mets bullpen. Their relievers struck out 592 batters and walked 269 opposing hitters. As a team, New York allowed 9.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They were 28th in the league in team earned run average at 5.01. The Mets pitchers as a team surrendered 1,538 base knocks and 799 earned runs last season. They gave up 220 home runs last year, which ranked 9th in Major League Baseball. New York as a staff walked 593 hitters and struck out 1,374 batters. They gave up a walk 3.7 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.49 while their FIP as a staff was 4.59.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .250, good for 19th in the league. The Mets held a .434 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .320, which was good for 19th in baseball. They ranked 21st in MLB with 8.5 hits per contest. Todd Frazier comes into this matchup after batting .213 with an OBP of .344 last season. He had 101 hits last year along with 76 RBI in 474 AB's. He maintained a slugging percentage of .428 with an OPS+ of 105. Yoenis Cespedes hit .292 last season and he had an OBP of .352. He collected 85 hits in 291 at bats while driving in 42 runs. He had an OPS+ of 132 and a slugging percentage of .540. The Mets as a unit had 1,379 base hits last season, including 286 doubles and 224 homers. New York walked 529 times last year and they struck out on 1,291 occasions. They left 1,099 men on base and had an OPS of .755. They scored 4.54 runs per game and totaled 735 runs last year.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Cardinals +139

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