St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 9/18/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Friday, September 18, 2020

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: ATPT/FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Cardinals (-170) Pirates (+157)

PNC Park is the venue where Bryan Reynolds and the Pittsburgh Pirates (14-34, 5th in NL Central) will play the St. Louis Cardinals (22-23, 3rd in NL Central) on Friday. The moneyline on this matchup has the Cardinals priced at -170 and the Pirates are at +157. The O/U opens at 7. The starting pitchers are Carlos Martinez and Trevor Williams.

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

9/16/2020 Dexter Fowler RF Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
9/15/2020 John Gant RP Groin Probable for Sep 17
9/14/2020 Austin Dean LF Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
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

9/17/2020 Cole Tucker RF Concussion Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
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 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Out for the season
6/30/2020 Kevin Kramer RF Hip Out for the season
2/13/2020 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals have a 22-23 overall record this season. Martinez (58-42 career win-loss record) is the owner of a FIP of 3.57 and he has gone up against 3,712 hitters in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.45 (336 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.287. He has surrendered 796 base knocks (8.2 hits per nine innings) and has 331 walks. Martinez has thrown 876 frames and has accumulated 866 K's in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.36 and they have given up 117 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .180 against the bullpen and they've struck out 152 hitters and walked 79 batters. As a team, St. Louis allows 7.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 10th in the league in team earned run average at 4.05. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 292 base hits and 165 earned runs. They have allowed 57 home runs this season, ranking them 24th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 160 batters and struck out 352. They have walked 3.9 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 4.78.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .242, good for 20th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .385 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .333, which is good for 9th in baseball. They rank 25th in MLB with 7.3 hits per game. Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .310 with an on-base percentage of .439. He has 45 hits this season in 145 at bats with 18 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .497 and an OPS+ of 155. Paul DeJong is hitting .295 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .377. He has totaled 33 hits and he has driven in 21 men in 112 at bats. His OPS+ is 118 while his slugging percentage is at .420. The Cardinals have 330 hits, including 59 doubles and 43 home runs. St. Louis has walked 165 times so far this season and they have struck out 354 times as a unit. They have left 286 men on base and have a team OPS of .718. They score 4.27 runs per contest and have scored a total of 192 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Pittsburgh has a 14-34 overall mark this year. Thus far in his career, Williams has conceded 528 base knocks while accumulating 409 strikeouts in 524 frames. He has surrendered a total of 257 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.339 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.6. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.35 and he has gone up against 2,248 opposing hitters in his MLB career. Williams (30-36 career win-loss record) has a 4.41 earned run average while allowing 9.1 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.46 and they have given up 178 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .200 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 228 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 23rd in the league in team earned run average at 5.1. The Pirates pitchers as a team have surrendered 387 base knocks and 233 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 208 hitters and struck out 430 batters. They give up a walk 4.6 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.45 while their FIP as a staff is 5.09.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .218, good for 28th in the league. The Pirates hold a .344 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .281, which is good for 30th in baseball. They rank 28th in MLB with 7.1 hits per contest. Bryan Reynolds comes into this matchup batting .174 with an OBP of .279. He has 25 hits this year along with 13 RBI in 144 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .319 with an OPS+ of 63. Josh Bell is hitting .247 this season and he has an OBP of .321. He has collected 40 hits in 162 at bats while driving in 18 runs. He has an OPS+ of 94 and a slugging percentage of .395. The Pirates as a unit have 342 base hits, including 59 doubles and 42 homers. Pittsburgh has walked 132 times this year and they have struck out on 422 occasions. They have had 282 men left on base and have an OPS of .625. They have scored 3.6 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 (+157)

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