St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 9/17/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2020

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: ATPT/FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Cardinals (-165) Pirates (+152)

Paul DeJong and the St. Louis Cardinals (21-22, 2nd in NL Central) are headed to PNC Park on Thursday where they'll take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (14-33, 5th in NL Central). The line on this game has the Cardinals coming in at -165 and the Pirates are at +152. The O/U is set at 9. The starting pitchers are Dakota Hudson and Steven Brault.

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

9/16/2020 Kolten Wong 2B Side Expected to be out until at least Sep 17
9/15/2020 John Gant RP Groin Expected to be out until at least Sep 17
9/14/2020 Austin Dean LF Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
9/12/2020 Dexter Fowler RF Not Injury Related Out for the season
9/11/2020 Giovanny Gallegos RP Groin Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
9/4/2020 Kodi Whitley RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
8/31/2020 Ricardo Sanchez RP Elbow Out for the season
8/11/2020 Miles Mikolas SP Forearm Out for the season
6/28/2020 John Brebbia RP Elbow Out for the season

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

9/16/2020 Chad Kuhl SP Finger Expected to be out until at least Sep 18
9/15/2020 Keone Kela RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 22
9/14/2020 Kyle Crick RP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
9/11/2020 Tyler Bashlor RP Back Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
9/9/2020 Yacksel Rios RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
9/6/2020 Anthony Alford CF Elbow Out for the season
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
8/6/2020 Michael Feliz RP Forearm Out for the season
7/23/2020 Luke Maile C Finger Out for the season
6/30/2020 Kevin Kramer RF Hip Out for the season
6/30/2020 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Out for the season
2/13/2020 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals have a 21-22 overall record this season. Hudson (23-10 win-loss mark in his career) has a FIP of 4.72 and he has gone up against 1,018 hitters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 3.20 (85 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.335. He has surrendered 202 base knocks (7.6 hits per 9 innings) and has 117 free passes. Hudson has thrown 239 innings and is sitting with 186 K's during his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.44 and they have given up 117 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .181 against the bullpen and they've struck out 152 hitters and walked 78 batters. As a team, St. Louis allows 7.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 8th in the league in team earned run average at 4.04. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 281 base hits and 159 earned runs. They have allowed 54 home runs this season, ranking them 27th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 156 batters and struck out 338. They have walked 4 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.6 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.23 and their FIP as a unit is 4.76.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .244, good for 18th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .386 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .337, which is good for 6th in baseball. They rank 23rd in MLB with 7.5 hits per game. Paul DeJong is hitting .302 with an on-base percentage of .387. He has 32 hits this season in 106 at bats with 21 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .434 and an OPS+ of 124. Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .314 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .443. He has totaled 44 hits and he has driven in 18 men in 140 at bats. His OPS+ is 159 while his slugging percentage is at .507. The Cardinals have 321 hits, including 57 doubles and 41 home runs. St. Louis has walked 163 times so far this season and they have struck out 340 times as a unit. They have left 280 men on base and have a team OPS of .724. They score 4.37 runs per contest and have scored a total of 188 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

So far in his pro baseball career, Brault has allowed 313 base hits while he has tallied 258 strikeouts in 299 innings. He has allowed 163 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.574 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.8. He has a SO/W ratio of 1.63 and he has gone up against 1,368 opposing hitters so far in his career. Brault (11-15 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a 4.90 earned run average and has allowed 9.4 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.52 and they have given up 178 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .202 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 223 batters and walked 103 opposing hitters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 8.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.4 batters per nine innings. They are 25th in the league in team earned run average at 5.18. The Pirates pitchers as a team have surrendered 382 base knocks and 232 earned runs this season. They have given up 72 home runs this year, which ranks 5th in Major League Baseball. Pittsburgh as a staff has walked 207 hitters and struck out 421 batters. They give up a walk 4.6 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.46 while their FIP as a staff is 5.18.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .220, good for 28th in the league. The Pirates hold a .349 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .283, which is good for 30th in baseball. They rank 28th in MLB with 7.2 hits per contest. Josh Bell comes into this matchup batting .244 with an OBP of .315. He has 39 hits this year along with 18 RBI in 160 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .394 with an OPS+ of 91. Bryan Reynolds is hitting .175 this season and he has an OBP of .280. He has collected 25 hits in 143 at bats while driving in 13 runs. He has an OPS+ of 63 and a slugging percentage of .322. The Pirates as a unit have 339 base hits, including 59 doubles and 42 homers. Pittsburgh has walked 131 times this year and they have struck out on 411 occasions. They have had 279 men left on base and have an OPS of .632. They have scored 3.68 runs per game and totaled 173 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Pirates (+152)

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