St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 8/26/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Thursday, August 26, 2021

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (-192) Pittsburgh (+145)

Mitch Keller and the Pittsburgh Pirates (46-80, 5th in NL Central) host the St. Louis Cardinals (63-61, 3rd in NL Central) at PNC Park on Thursday. The Pirates open this contest at +145 while the Cardinals are priced at -192. The over/under has been set at 9. The pitchers taking the mound are Miles Mikolas and Mitch Keller.

St. Louis is slugging .391 and have been rung up 1,013 times, while being walked on 375 occasions. They have amassed 484 runs batted in and 976 hits for the season, and their average at the plate is .238. The Cardinals have compiled 198 two-baggers as a team and have knocked 134 balls out of the park. They have 504 runs scored and hold an OBP of .310. As a unit, the St. Louis Cardinals are putting up 4.1 runs per contest, which puts them at 25th in MLB.

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The Cardinals hold a team ERA of 4.04 so far this year (14th in the league), and their staff has struck out 956 hitters. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 1.94 and the pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.32. Cardinals pitchers have given up 112 home runs in addition to 528 runs in total (12th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 492 players from the other team and their FIP is 4.33 as a unit for the year.

The Cardinals have dispatched 424 relievers to the hill this year. The relief pitchers have inherited 223 base runners so far this year and 35.9% of them crossed the plate. They have recorded 34 saves over the course of the season and have missed out on 14 out of their 48 save opportunities. The Cardinals bullpen have recorded a save rate of 70.8% and has entered the game in 120 save situations. The relievers have notched 70 holds this year (7th in MLB). Cardinals relief pitchers have entered the game with players on base 132 times in addition to having 110 appearances in high leverage situations.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a tally of 3,259 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 1,141 assists and 69 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .985 which is 16th in MLB, and have earned 879 double plays. The Cardinals have converted 71.3% of balls hit into play into outs in their 9,777 innings, ranking them 4th in pro baseball.

Mikolas (31-25 career record) holds a FIP of 3.94 while going up against 2,015 hitters during his time in the majors. He has given up 480 hits (8.9 hits per nine innings) and has had 98 free passes. His ERA is 3.77 (203 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.192. Mikolas has pitched in 485 innings and has totaled 360 K's during his pro baseball career.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have accumulated an OBP of .303 and a batting average of .233 over the course of the season. They have struck out on 1,033 instances (25th in baseball) and have totaled 967 hits. Pittsburgh has accumulated 98 home runs over the course of the season as well as 425 runs batted in. The Pirates hold a team SLG% of .361 and they average 3.57 runs per contest (30th in the league). They have put up 193 doubles, while walking 389 times and putting up 450 runs.

The Pirates are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.409 with a FIP of 4.66 as a pitching staff so far this year. They come in at 21st in the league as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 1,060. The Pittsburgh pitching staff have given up 636 runs on the season while holding a team ERA of 5.00 (600 earned runs given up). They currently have a K/BB ratio of 2.21 (1,023 strikeouts against 462 walks). They have conceded 160 home runs and they concede 5.30 runs per 9 innings (27th in baseball).

Pittsburgh relievers hold an inherited score rate of 31.8% out of 157 inherited runners. Their relief pitchers have come in 97 times in high leverage situations and on 93 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 84 save situations, the Pirates have amassed 51 holds and 12 blown saves. They rank 19th in MLB with a save percentage of 60.0%, and they have dispatched 433 bullpen pitchers to the hill this season. Pittsburgh has had relief pitchers step onto the hill in 30 save opportunities and they have recorded 18 saves.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 103 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .987 (5th in professional baseball). The Pirates have recorded 1,071 assists, 59 errors and have earned 3,241 putouts so far this year. In their 9,723 innings on the field, the Pirates have earned a defensive efficiency of 69.0% (21st in MLB).

Keller (6-16 win-loss record in his career) holds a 6.07 earned run average and has conceded 11.0 hits per 9 innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.13 and he has faced 630 opposing batters so far in his career. He has allowed a total of 92 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.731 and a FIP of 4.4. In his pro baseball career, Keller has given up 167 base hits while totaling 147 K's in 136 frames.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Louis (-192)

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