Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 8/27/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Thursday, August 27, 2020

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Pirates (+161) Cardinals (-178)

Busch Stadium is the site where Paul Goldschmidt and the St. Louis Cardinals (10-9, 2nd in NL Central) will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (7-18, 5th in NL Central) on Thursday. The Cardinals open this matchup at -178 while the Pirates are coming in at +161. The over/under opens at 7. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Chad Kuhl and Kwang Hyun Kim.

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

8/26/2020 Kevin Newman SS Abdomen Expected to be out until at least Aug 27
8/26/2020 Colin Moran DH Concussion Expected to be out until at least Aug 27
8/26/2020 Joe Musgrove SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/26/2020 Keone Kela RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Aug 27
8/26/2020 Kyle Crick RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 27
8/25/2020 Yacksel Rios RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 23
8/19/2020 Mitch Keller SP Oblique Expected to be out until at least Sep 2
8/19/2020 Phillip Evans 3B Jaw Out for the season
8/11/2020 Clay Holmes RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
8/6/2020 Nick Burdi RP Elbow Out for the season

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

8/26/2020 Lane Thomas CF Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/26/2020 Carlos Martinez SP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
8/26/2020 Kodi Whitley RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 10
8/26/2020 Austin Dean LF Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/25/2020 Junior Fernandez RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/23/2020 Ryan Helsley RP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/23/2020 Rangel Ravelo DH Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/23/2020 Edmundo Sosa 2B Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/20/2020 Matt Wieters C Toe Expected to be out until at least Aug 30
8/11/2020 Miles Mikolas SP Forearm Out for the season
6/28/2020 John Brebbia RP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Pirates have a 7-18 overall record this season. Kuhl (19-21 career record) holds a FIP of 4.39 while he has gone up against 1,428 hitters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 4.28 (158 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.401. He has allowed 333 base hits (9.0 hits per 9 innings) and has had 132 walks. Kuhl has thrown 332 innings and has 295 punchouts so far in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.25 and they have given up 109 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .207 against the bullpen and they've struck out 131 hitters and walked 67 batters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings. They are 22nd in the league in team earned run average at 5.03. The Pirates pitchers collectively have given up 205 base hits and 125 earned runs. They have allowed 34 home runs this season, ranking them 22nd in the league. Pittsburgh as a pitching staff has walked 117 batters and struck out 227. They have walked 4.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.1 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.44 and their FIP as a unit is 4.91.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Pittsburgh is hitting .221, good for 26th in the league. The Pirates hold a .349 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .277, which is good for 30th in baseball. They rank 24th in MLB with 7.4 hits per game. Josh Bell is hitting .198 with an on-base percentage of .242. He has 18 hits this season in 91 at bats with 10 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .286 and an OPS+ of 45. Bryan Reynolds is hitting .212 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .295. He has totaled 18 hits and he has driven in 7 men in 85 at bats. His OPS+ is 83 while his slugging percentage is at .376. The Pirates have 186 hits, including 31 doubles and 24 home runs. Pittsburgh has walked 62 times so far this season and they have struck out 227 times as a unit. They have left 131 men on base and have a team OPS of .626. They score 4.08 runs per contest and have scored a total of 102 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kim (1-0 win-loss mark) has a 1.76 earned run average while conceding 7.1 hits per nine innings. His SO/W ratio is 1.33 and he has gone up against 42 opposing batters. Kim has allowed 8 hits while totaling 4 strikeouts in 10 innings. He has given up a total of 2 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.078 and having a FIP of 4.6. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.38 and they have given up 39 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .139 against the Cardinals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 73 batters and walked 34 opposing hitters. As a team, St. Louis allows 5.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings. They are 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.37. The Cardinals pitchers as a team have surrendered 99 base knocks and 58 earned runs this season. They have given up 22 home runs this year, which ranks 30th in Major League Baseball. St. Louis as a staff has walked 65 hitters and struck out 146 batters. They give up a walk 3.8 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.5 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.06 while their FIP as a staff is 4.55.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .240, good for 20th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .380 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .337, which is good for 4th in baseball. They rank 25th in MLB with 7.3 hits per contest. Paul Goldschmidt comes into this matchup batting .344 with an OBP of .487. He has 21 hits this year along with 8 RBI in 61 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .525 with an OPS+ of 180. Dexter Fowler is hitting .260 this season and he has an OBP of .327. He has collected 13 hits in 50 at bats while driving in 7 runs. He has an OPS+ of 100 and a slugging percentage of .400. The Cardinals as a unit have 138 base hits, including 23 doubles and 17 homers. St. Louis has walked 70 times this year and they have struck out on 147 occasions. They have had 122 men left on base and have an OPS of .717. They have scored 4.26 runs per game and totaled 81 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Pirates (+161)

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