St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 5/1/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Saturday, May 1, 2021

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (+110) Pittsburgh (-120)

Jack Flaherty and the St. Louis Cardinals (13-12, 2nd in NL Central) travel to PNC Park on Saturday where they'll take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (12-12, 3rd in NL Central). The Pirates open this contest at -120 while the Cardinals are coming in at +110. The O/U opens at 8. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Jack Flaherty and Trevor Cahill.

The Cardinals have accounted for 29 two-baggers as a team and have smacked 31 balls out of the stadium. St. Louis is slugging .379 and have been called out on strikes 225 times, while drawing a walk on 77 occasions. As a unit, the St. Louis Cardinals are notching 4.4 runs per game, which ranks them 12th in MLB. They have 100 runs batted in in addition to 180 hits on the season, while their team batting average is sitting at .221. They have 110 runs scored while having a team on-base percentage of .296.

The Cardinals hold a team earned run average of 4.01 for the year (15th in the league), and the staff has struck out 217 batters. They have walked 95 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 3.91 as a unit on the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.28 and their pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.26. Cardinals pitchers have allowed 21 long balls and also 105 runs in total (16th in the league).

Cardinals relief pitchers have entered the contest with runners on base 21 times as well as having 14 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers have accumulated 11 holds this year (18th in the league). The Cardinals bullpen have earned a save rate of 77.8% and has entered the game in 20 save situations. They have earned 7 saves on the year and have blown 2 of their 9 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 38 runners on the season and 28.9% of them crossed the plate. The Cardinals have sent 82 relief pitchers to the mound on the season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a total of 660 putouts thus far, as well as 210 assists and 15 errors. Their fielding rate is holding steady at .983 which has them sitting 20th in MLB, and have accumulated 159 double plays. The Cardinals have turned 70.8% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 1,980 innings on the field, which has them sitting at 10th in baseball.

Flaherty has taken the mound for 437 frames and has 509 strikeouts during his career. Flaherty (27-22 mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 3.77 while he has faced 1,764 hitters in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.35 (163 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.066. He has given up 318 base knocks (6.5 hits per nine innings) and has 148 walks.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting with an on-base percentage of .309 and a batting average of .230 for the season. They have struck out on 213 occasions (21st in MLB) and have earned 182 base hits. Pittsburgh has knocked in 20 home runs on the year as well as 92 RBIs. The Pirates hold a team slugging percentage of .365 and they score 3.92 runs per contest (23rd in MLB). They have hit 41 doubles, while getting a free base 81 times as well as scoring 94 runs.

The Pittsburgh pitching staff have allowed 106 runs this season while having a team ERA of 4.35 (99 earned runs surrendered). They have surrendered 27 dingers and they allow 4.65 runs per 9 innings (20th in baseball). The Pirates hold a team WHIP of 1.263 with a FIP of 4.10 as a staff on the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.57 (213 strikeouts vs 83 bases on balls). They are currently ranked 9th in MLB as a staff in total hits relinquished with 176.

Pittsburgh relievers have an inherited score percentage of 19.4% out of 31 inherited base runners. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 19 times in high leverage situations and also on 19 occasions with runners on base. With 21 save situations, the Pirates have earned 14 holds and 1 blown save. They sit at 4th in baseball with a save rate of 80.0%, and they have dispatched 87 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond so far this season. Pittsburgh has called on relief pitchers to enter the contest in 5 save chances and they have come away with 4 saves.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have twisted 21 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .985 (13th in the majors). The Pirates have accrued 213 assists, 13 errors and have 615 putouts for the season. Out of their 1,845 innings played, the Pirates hold a defensive efficiency of 70.4% (16th in MLB).

During his MLB career, Cahill has given up 1,427 hits and he has 1,138 punch outs in 1,489 innings pitched. He has conceded a total of 701 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.365 and a FIP of 4.4. His K/BB ratio is 1.88 and he has faced 6,377 batters during his pro baseball career. Cahill (86-96 career win-loss record) is the owner of a 4.24 ERA and has conceded 8.6 hits per nine innings.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-120)

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