Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 4/23/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Friday, April 23, 2021

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Cincinnati (-115) St. Louis (+105)

Sonny Gray and the Cincinnati Reds (9-8, 2nd in NL Central) are headed to Busch Stadium on Friday where they'll meet the St. Louis Cardinals (8-10, 5th in NL Central). The Reds open this game at -115 while the Cardinals are coming in at +105. The over/under is set at 7.5. The starting pitchers will be Sonny Gray and Kwang Hyun Kim.

The Reds have earned 32 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 25 balls out of the stadium. Cincinnati has a slugging rate of .457 and have been rung up 153 times, while being walked on 58 occasions. As a team, the Cincinnati Reds are putting up 5.9 runs per game, which ranks them 1st in baseball. They have tallied 95 RBI's as well as 150 base knocks for the season, and their team batting average is sitting at .260. They have accumulated 100 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .337.

Reds pitchers have given up 26 home runs in addition to 80 runs (18th in MLB). They have walked 70 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 4.58 as a squad over the course of the season. Their K/BB ratio is 2.49 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.30. The Reds have a team ERA of 4.32 for the season (17th in baseball), and the staff has rung up 174 hitters.

Reds pitchers have entered the game with players on base 19 times as well as having 17 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers have recorded 5 holds for the year (25th in the league). The Reds relievers have earned a save percentage of 42.9% and stepped onto the hill in 12 save situations. They have compiled 3 saves over the course of the season and have blown 4 of 7 save chances. The relief pitchers have inherited 25 runners for the season and 48.0% of those players crossed home plate. The Reds have dispatched 61 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year.

The Reds have transformed 70.8% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 1,368 innings on the field, which has them sitting at 11th in the majors. The Cincinnati Reds have amassed 456 putouts on the campaign, in addition to 143 assists and 10 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .984 which puts them in 12th in pro baseball, and they have turned 102 double plays.

Gray has taken the ball for 1,136 innings and has 1,072 strikeouts so far in his career. His earned run average is 3.54 (447 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.222. He has given up 984 base hits (7.8 hits per 9 innings) and has 405 walks. Gray (75-63 career win-loss record) holds a FIP of 3.66 while he has faced 4,732 batters during his time in the major leagues.

The Cardinals hold a team SLG% of .395 and they tally 4.72 runs per contest (10th in MLB). They have recorded 20 two-baggers, while taking a walk 62 times as well as earning 85 runs. St. Louis has accounted for 25 HRs so far this year to go along with 76 runs batted in. They have struck out on 168 instances (12th in MLB) and have earned 133 hits. The St. Louis Cardinals hold a team on-base percentage of .306 in addition to a batting average of .225 so far this season.

The Cardinals have a WHIP of 1.417 and have a FIP of 4.28 as a squad so far this year. They are sitting at 20th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 142. The St. Louis pitching staff have allowed 87 runs on the year while holding an ERA of 4.67 (81 earned runs yielded). Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 1.92 (152 strikeouts vs 79 free passes). They have given up 16 long balls and they surrender 5.02 runs per 9 innings (22nd in the league).

St. Louis has called on relievers to take the mound in 4 save opportunities and they have walked away with 3 saves. They are ranked 7th in MLB with a save percentage of 75.0%, and they have dispatched 62 relievers to the mound this season. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 10 times in high leverage situations and also on 14 occasions with runners on. St. Louis relievers have an inherited score percentage of 25.9% out of their 27 inherited base runners. With 10 save situations, the Cardinals have earned 6 holds and 1 blown save.

The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 12 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .981 (22nd in baseball). The Cardinals have recorded 144 assists, 12 errors and have a tally of 468 putouts on the season. In their 1,404 innings on the diamond, the Cardinals hold a defensive efficiency of 69.1% (20th in the majors).

During his MLB career, Kim has allowed 33 base knocks while accumulating 28 punch outs in 42 innings. He has given up 10 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.095 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.8. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.15 and he has faced 170 opposing batters during his pro baseball career. Kim (3-0 career win-loss mark) is the owner of a 2.14 ERA while allowing 7.1 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's baseball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take St. Louis (+105)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here