Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 6/24/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Thursday, June 24, 2021

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+110) St. Louis (-141)

Carlos Martinez and the St. Louis Cardinals (36-37, 4th in NL Central) host the Pittsburgh Pirates (26-45, 5th in NL Central) at Busch Stadium on Thursday. The odds on this contest have the Pirates coming in at +110 and the Cardinals are at -141. The total is set at 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound will be Chad Kuhl and Carlos Martinez.

The Pirates have earned 112 doubles as a squad and have hit 52 balls out of the stadium. Pittsburgh is slugging .353 and have struck out 588 times, while drawing a walk on 218 occasions. As a squad, the Pittsburgh Pirates are putting up 3.5 runs per game, which has them sitting at 30th in baseball. They have 236 runs batted in as well as 535 hits so far this year, while their batting average is at .228. They have accounted for 251 runs while having a team OBP of .300.

The Pirates are sitting with a team ERA of 4.76 this year (24th in the league), and they have struck out 584 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 245 hitters and their FIP is 4.46 as a squad for the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.38 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.33. Pirates pitchers have given up 87 long balls and also 345 total runs (21st in baseball).

The Pirates relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 71.4% and has entered the game in 44 save situations. The relievers have inherited 96 base runners so far this year with 29.2% of those players ended up scoring. Pirates bullpen pitchers have entered the game with runners on 60 times and also have had 55 appearances in high leverage situations. The Pirates have sent 246 relievers to the mound on the year. The relievers have 28 holds this season (26th in the league). They have earned 10 saves on the year and have blown 4 of their 14 chances to save the game.

The Pirates have turned 69.9% of balls in play into outs out of their 5,511 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting at 14th in baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates have notched a total of 1,837 putouts this year, in addition to 636 assists and 39 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .984 which has them sitting 10th in professional baseball, and have a total of 504 double plays.

Kuhl has taken the ball for 394 innings and has earned 347 punch outs so far in his career. Kuhl (21-27 career mark) has a FIP of 4.58 and he has faced 1,710 batters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 4.47 (196 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.423. He has allowed 386 hits (8.8 hits per 9 innings) and has 175 free passes.

St. Louis has 77 home runs for the year and 274 RBIs. They have put up 110 doubles, while walking 216 times and putting up 289 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals have an on-base percentage of .299 as well as a team batting average of .227 on the campaign. The Cardinals hold a slugging % of .376 and they earn 3.96 runs per contest (25th in the league). They have been called out on strikes on 613 occasions (23rd in baseball) and have recorded 540 base hits.

The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.353 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.29 as a unit on the campaign. They rank 12th in MLB as a staff in total hits relinquished with 542. The St. Louis pitching staff have surrendered 327 runs for the season while holding a team ERA of 4.23 (297 earned runs allowed). They currently have a K/BB ratio of 1.86 (581 strikeouts against 313 walks). They have surrendered 60 HR's and they allow 4.66 runs per 9 innings (17th in the league).

With 60 save situations, the Cardinals have 31 holds and 6 blown saves. St. Louis has called on relief pitchers to step onto the hill in 27 save chances and they have tallied 21 saves. Their relief pitchers have come in 64 times in high leverage situations and also on 74 occasions with runners on base. St. Louis relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 46.6% out of their 131 inherited runners. They are currently ranked 3rd in MLB with a save percentage of 77.8%, and they have dispatched 239 relievers to the hill for the season.

In 5,688 innings on the diamond, the Cardinals hold a defensive efficiency of 70.7% (9th in professional baseball). The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 55 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .982 (25th in MLB). The Cardinals have accrued 641 assists, 46 errors and have earned a total of 1,896 putouts on the season.

In his MLB career, Martinez has given up 875 base hits while accumulating 917 punch outs in 952 frames. Martinez (61-51 win-loss mark in his career) is the owner of a 3.73 earned run average and has given up 8.3 hits per 9 innings. He has surrendered a total of 395 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.300 and having a FIP of 3.6. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.53 and he has gone up against 4,059 opposing hitters in his career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Louis (-141)

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