Houston Astros at St. Louis Cardinals MLB Point Spread Picks 7/27/2019

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Busch Stadium

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Gerrit Cole vs. Daniel Ponce de Leon

Paul Goldschmidt and the St. Louis Cardinals (55-47, 2nd in NL Central) host the Houston Astros (66-38, 1st in AL West) at Busch Stadium on Saturday, July 27, 2019. The Astros open this contest at -169 while the Cardinals are priced at +159. The over/under has been set at 8.

The Astros have been awful for Vegas oddsmakers, having gone 66-38-0 SU. The Cardinals are covering 53.9% of the time, going 55-47-0 straight up. The Astros have been awful for Vegas oddsmakers as a favorite, going 64-33-0 SU. St. Louis has went 24-21-0 straight up as the underdog, so they are covering 53.3% of the time.

Valuable Houston Astros Betting Trends

The Astros have been a great Under pick for O/U MLB wagerers, having gone 45-55-4.

The Astros are covering 53.1% of the time as the road team, having gone 26-23-0 straight up.

Important St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

St. Louis covers 58.3% of the time at Busch Stadium, going 28-20-0 SU.

The Cardinals have been a pretty good Under pick for O/U MLB wagerers, having gone 44-52-6.

Key Houston Astros Injuries

7/23/2019 Josh James RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 1
7/21/2019 Brad Peacock SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
7/12/2019 Carlos Correa SS Ribs Expected to be out until at least Jul 26
6/9/2019 Lance McCullers SP Elbow Out for the season

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

7/25/2019 Matt Carpenter 3B Foot Expected to be out until at least Jul 30
7/23/2019 Brett Cecil RP Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
7/14/2019 Jedd Gyorko 3B Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 2
7/11/2019 Yadier Molina C Thumb Expected to be out until at least Aug 1
7/11/2019 Jordan Hicks RP Elbow Out for the season
7/3/2019 Marcell Ozuna LF Finger Expected to be out until at least Aug 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Astros have a 66-38 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole has a 11-5 record with an earned run average of 3.03 and a WHIP of 1.00 this season. He has 205 strikeouts over his 136.2 innings pitched and he's given up 103 hits. He's allowed 6.8 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 3.01. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.77 and they have given up 301 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .224 against the bullpen and they've struck out 381 hitters and walked 128 batters. As a team, Houston allows 7.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 10.1 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.79. The Astros pitchers collectively have given up 770 base hits and 395 earned runs. They have allowed 154 home runs this season, ranking them 7th in the league. Houston as a pitching staff has walked 293 batters and struck out 1,057. They have walked 2.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 10.1 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.13 and their FIP as a unit is 4.13.

Related: Get MLB picks & tips on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Houston is hitting .270, good for 3rd in the league. The Astros hold a .476 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .346, which is good for 2nd in baseball. They rank 5th in MLB with 9.3 hits per game. Michael Brantley is hitting .326 with an on-base percentage of .386. He has 124 hits this season in 380 at bats with 55 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .521 and an OPS+ of 139. George Springer is hitting .295 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .382. He has totaled 83 hits and he has driven in 58 men in 281 at bats. His OPS+ is 154 while his slugging percentage is at .591. The Astros have 964 hits, including 196 doubles and 170 home runs. Houston has walked 393 times so far this season and they have struck out 740 times as a unit. They have left 742 men on base and have a team OPS of .822. They score 5.22 runs per contest and have scored a total of 543 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

St. Louis has a 55-47 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 2.82, Daniel Ponce de Leon has a 1-0 record and a 1.12 WHIP. He has 44 strikeouts over the 38.1 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 26 hits. He's allowing 6.1 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.03. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.90 and they have given up 275 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .211 against the Cardinals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 397 batters and walked 139 opposing hitters. As a team, St. Louis allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings. They are 8th in the league in team earned run average at 4.1. The Cardinals pitchers as a team have surrendered 828 base knocks and 413 earned runs this season. They have given up 133 home runs this year, which ranks 19th in Major League Baseball. St. Louis as a staff has walked 340 hitters and struck out 876 batters. They give up a walk 3.4 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.7 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.29 while their FIP as a staff is 4.46.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .244, good for 22nd in the league. The Cardinals hold a .410 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which is good for 21st in baseball. They rank 25th in MLB with 8.2 hits per contest. Paul Goldschmidt comes into this matchup batting .253 with an OBP of .340. He has 96 hits this year along with 53 RBI in 379 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .454 with an OPS+ of 108. Paul DeJong is hitting .256 this season and he has an OBP of .336. He has collected 97 hits in 379 at bats while driving in 50 runs. He has an OPS+ of 110 and a slugging percentage of .467. The Cardinals as a unit have 837 base hits, including 154 doubles and 132 homers. St. Louis has walked 337 times this year and they have struck out on 866 occasions. They have had 677 men left on base and have an OPS of .728. They have scored 4.63 runs per game and totaled 472 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Astros -169

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