St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Betting Tips and Predictions 9/8/2019

Sunday, September 8, 2019

PNC Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Jack Flaherty vs. Mitch Keller

Starling Marte and the Pittsburgh Pirates (62-79, 5th in NL Central) play the St. Louis Cardinals (79-62, 1st in NL Central) at PNC Park on Sunday, September 8, 2019. The Pirates open this contest at +105 while the Cardinals are priced at -115. The over/under opens at 9.

The Cardinals have been a very good play for baseball bettors, having gone 79-62-0 SU. Pittsburgh covers 44.0% of the time, going 62-79-0 straight up.

Valuable St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The Cardinals have been an inconsistent Over choice for over/under bettors, having gone 58-75-8.

The Cardinals cover 47.8% of the time on the road, having gone 32-35-0 straight up.

Important Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

Pittsburgh covers 44.9% of the time at PNC Park, going 31-38-0 SU.

The Pirates have been a terrible Under choice for over/under bettors, having gone 81-55-5.

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Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

9/3/2019 Matt Wieters C Calf Expected to be out until at least Sep 13
9/1/2019 Lane Thomas CF Wrist Out for the season
8/21/2019 Brett Cecil RP Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
7/11/2019 Jordan Hicks RP Elbow Out for the season
6/26/2019 Tony Cingrani RP Shoulder Out for the season

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

9/6/2019 Joe Musgrove SP Foot Expected to be out until at least Sep 11
9/4/2019 Gregory Polanco RF Shoulder Out for the season
9/4/2019 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 17
9/4/2019 Keone Kela RP Paternity List Expected to be out until at least Sep 7
9/4/2019 Jason Martin LF Shoulder Out for the season
9/3/2019 Mitch Keller SP Wrist Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/29/2019 Yefry Ramirez RP Calf Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/29/2019 Chris Stratton RP Side Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/29/2019 Nick Burdi RP Biceps Out for the season
8/14/2019 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Out for the season
8/8/2019 Lonnie Chisenhall RF Calf Out for the season
3/28/2019 Edgar Santana RP Elbow Out for the season
3/1/2019 Chad Kuhl SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals have a 79-62 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Jack Flaherty has a 9-7 record with an earned run average of 3.14 and a WHIP of 1.04 this season. He has 186 strikeouts over his 160.1 innings pitched and he's given up 119 hits. He's allowed 6.7 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 3.77. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.77 and they have given up 383 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .215 against the bullpen and they've struck out 529 hitters and walked 197 batters. As a team, St. Louis allows 8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 5th in the league in team earned run average at 3.89. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 1,111 base hits and 539 earned runs. They have allowed 166 home runs this season, ranking them 29th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 469 batters and struck out 1,213. They have walked 3.4 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.27 and their FIP as a unit is 4.27.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .248, good for 19th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .413 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .321, which is good for 19th in baseball. They rank 24th in MLB with 8.3 hits per game. Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .260 with an on-base percentage of .340. He has 136 hits this season in 523 at bats with 79 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .465 and an OPS+ of 109. Paul DeJong is hitting .246 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .326. He has totaled 125 hits and he has driven in 70 men in 509 at bats. His OPS+ is 104 while his slugging percentage is at .458. The Cardinals have 1,169 hits, including 214 doubles and 176 home runs. St. Louis has walked 468 times so far this season and they have struck out 1,190 times as a unit. They have left 949 men on base and have a team OPS of .734. They score 4.66 runs per contest and have scored a total of 657 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Pittsburgh has a 62-79 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 8.18, Mitch Keller has a 1-3 record and a 1.88 WHIP. He has 44 strikeouts over the 33 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 50 hits. He's allowing 13.6 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 3.7. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.84 and they have given up 539 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .254 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 598 batters and walked 251 opposing hitters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 9.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 25th in the league in team earned run average at 5.05. The Pirates pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,310 base knocks and 703 earned runs this season. They have given up 209 home runs this year, which ranks 10th in Major League Baseball. Pittsburgh as a staff has walked 493 hitters and struck out 1,253 batters. They give up a walk 3.5 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.44 while their FIP as a staff is 4.73.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .268, good for 5th in the league. The Pirates hold a .431 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .326, which is good for 14th in baseball. They rank 4th in MLB with 9.4 hits per contest. Starling Marte comes into this matchup batting .295 with an OBP of .343. He has 157 hits this year along with 81 RBI in 533 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .501 with an OPS+ of 117. Josh Bell is hitting .280 this season and he has an OBP of .369. He has collected 143 hits in 510 at bats while driving in 114 runs. He has an OPS+ of 142 and a slugging percentage of .576. The Pirates as a unit have 1,319 base hits, including 281 doubles and 156 homers. Pittsburgh has walked 384 times this year and they have struck out on 1,064 occasions. They have had 970 men left on base and have an OPS of .757. They have scored 4.82 runs per game and totaled 680 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Pirates (+105)

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