Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 4/21/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Thursday, April 21, 2022

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Marquee

Wrigley Field is the location where the Chicago Cubs (6-5) will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (5-6) on Thursday.

As a unit, the Pittsburgh Pirates are scoring 3.9 runs per game, which ranks them 20th in the league. They have accounted for 43 runs and have an OBP of .311. The Pirates have accrued 14 doubles as a squad and have hit 8 balls out of the stadium. They have accounted for 39 RBI's as well as 92 hits so far this year, while their team batting average is .251. Pittsburgh has a slugging rate of .371 and have been called out on strikes 97 times, while drawing a walk on 33 occasions.

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The Pirates are sitting with a team earned run average of 4.74 on the year (26th in MLB), and they have rung up 81 hitters. They have walked 49 opposing hitters and their FIP comes in at 4.66 as a squad for the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 1.65 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.38. Pirates pitchers have given up 12 home runs and 52 total runs (23rd in the league).

The Pirates have sent 33 relief pitchers to the mound over the course of the season. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 11 base runners this year with 27.3% of them crossed home plate. They have tallied 2 saves over the course of the season and have not converted 0 of 2 chances to save the game. The Pirates relievers have recorded a save rate of 100.0% and has come into the game in 4 save situations. The relief pitchers have earned 1 hold over the course of the season (30th in the league). Pirates bullpen pitchers have come into the game with runners on base 9 times in addition to having 5 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Pirates have converted 72.5% of baseballs in play into outs out of 855 innings on the field, which ranks them 9th in baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates have a tally of 285 putouts for the season, as well as 90 assists and 5 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .987 which is 13th in the majors, and they have turned 8 double plays.

Wilson has thrown 125 frames and is sitting with 87 K's in his pro baseball career. His ERA is 5.54 (77 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.576. He has conceded 146 hits (10.5 hits per nine innings) and has 51 walks. Wilson (6-8 mark in his career) holds a FIP of 5.55 while facing 559 batters in the major leagues.

Chicago has accounted for 11 home runs this year to go along with 49 runs batted in. They have recorded 25 doubles, while taking a walk 41 times and putting up 53 runs. The Chicago Cubs have compiled a team OBP of .349 in addition to a batting average of .266 for the season. The Cubs have a team slugging % of .437 and they have an average of 4.82 runs per contest (9th in the league). They have been called out on strikes on 86 occasions (22nd in the league) and have earned 97 base hits.

The Cubs have a team WHIP of 1.344 in addition to having a FIP of 3.94 as a squad for the year. Their K/BB ratio is 2.36 (92 strikeouts against 39 bases on balls). They rank 23rd in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 90. They have conceded 11 dingers and they concede 4.22 runs per 9 innings (15th in baseball). The Chicago pitching staff have allowed 45 runs on the year while holding a team ERA of 4.22 (45 earned runs yielded).

Chicago has had relievers take the mound in 7 save opportunities and they have come away with 5 saves. They rank 14th in the league with a save rate of 71.4%, and they have sent 39 relief pitchers onto the diamond so far this year. Their bullpen pitchers have taken the field 15 times in high leverage situations in addition to 14 occasions with runners on. Chicago relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 29.2% out of their 24 inherited base runners. Sitting with 16 save situations, the Cubs have tallied 6 holds and 2 blown saves.

The Chicago Cubs have gotten 13 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .997 (3rd in professional baseball). The Cubs have accrued 97 assists, 1 error and have amassed 288 putouts during this campaign. In their 864 innings played, the Cubs have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 69.4% (21st in pro baseball).

So far in his pro baseball career, Leiter Jr. has allowed 130 base knocks while he has accumulated 110 K's in 117 innings. Leiter Jr. (3-8 mark in his career) has earned a 5.91 earned run average while allowing 10.0 hits per 9 innings. He has conceded a total of 77 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.509 and having a FIP of 5.6. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.34 and he has gone up against 537 hitters so far in his pro baseball career.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Chicago

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