Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 4/9/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Saturday, April 9, 2022

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+180) St. Louis (-220)

The Pittsburgh Pirates (61-101 last season) are en route to Busch Stadium on Saturday where they will go up against the St. Louis Cardinals (90-72 last year). The moneyline on this matchup has Pittsburgh at +180 and St. Louis is at -220. The total is 8. The starting pitchers are Mitch Keller and Miles Mikolas.

Pittsburgh had a slugging percentage of .364 and were called out on strikes 1,328 times, while drawing a walk on 529 occasions. They accumulated 570 runs batted in and 1,261 hits in the prior season, and their team batting average was at .236. The Pirates compiled 240 two-baggers as a unit and knocked 124 balls out of the stadium. They racked up 609 runs while having a team on-base percentage of .309. As a unit, the Pittsburgh Pirates notched 3.8 runs per game, which had them at 30th in MLB.

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The Pirates compiled a team ERA of 5.08 for the prior year (28th in the league), and the staff struck out 1,312 batters. They walked 606 batters and their FIP was 4.74 as a team for the prior year. They accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.17 and the pitching staff had a collective WHIP of 1.44. Pirates pitchers conceded 213 home runs in addition to 833 total runs (26th in the league).

Pirates pitchers entered the contest with runners on 119 times in addition to having 135 outings in high leverage situations. The bullpen racked up 78 holds during the previous year (16th in the league). The Pirates relief pitchers had a save rate of 50.0% and entered the game in 131 save situations. They earned 25 saves over the course of last year and did not convert 25 of 50 chances to save the game. The relief pitchers inherited 201 base runners for the previous season with 34.3% of those players earned a run for their team. The Pirates had sent 583 relievers to the hill during the previous year.

The Pittsburgh Pirates earned a total of 4,189 putouts for the prior year, as well as 1,378 assists and 70 errors. Their fielding percentage was at .988 which was 2nd in the majors, and earned 139 double plays. The Pirates converted 68.7% of balls hit into play into outs out of 12,567 innings, which had them ranked 23rd in MLB.

Keller has taken the hill for 170 innings and has accumulated 173 strikeouts in his career. His ERA is 6.02 (114 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.732. He has allowed 212 hits (11.2 hits per nine innings) and has 83 walks. Keller (7-17 career mark) holds a FIP of 4.30 and he has gone up against 784 batters during his time in the major leagues.

The Cardinals held a team slugging % of .412 and they had an average of 4.36 runs per game (20th in the league). They tallied 261 two-baggers, while getting a free base 478 times as well as putting up 706 runs. St. Louis knocked in 198 home runs last season to go along with 678 RBIs. They struck out on 1,341 occasions (24th in baseball) and notched a total of 1,303 hits. The St. Louis Cardinals had a team on-base percentage of .313 as well as a batting average of .244 last year.

The Cardinals had a team WHIP of 1.300 and were the owners of a FIP of 4.30 as a squad over the course of last season. They earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.01 (1,225 strikeouts against 608 walks). They had a ranking of 6th in MLB as a staff in total hits conceded with 1,234. They conceded 152 long balls and they conceded 4.27 runs per 9 innings (10th in MLB). The St. Louis pitching staff allowed 672 runs over the course of the prior season while holding a team ERA of 3.98 (626 earned runs relinquished).

St. Louis called on relievers to step onto the hill in 71 save opportunities and they walked away with 50 saves. They ranked 1st in the league with a save percentage of 70.4%, and they sent 557 bullpen pitchers to the mound last season. Their relief pitchers came in 166 times in high leverage situations in addition to 167 occasions with base runners. St. Louis bullpen pitchers held an inherited score percentage of 37.4% out of their 273 inherited base runners. Finishing with 182 save situations, the Cardinals compiled 108 holds in addition to 21 blown saves.

St. Louis Cardinals turned 137 double plays and had a fielding rate of .986 (13th in MLB). The Cardinals had 1,513 assists, 84 errors and earned a total of 4,251 putouts during the previous year. Out of their 12,753 innings on the diamond, the Cardinals had a defensive efficiency of 71.4% (2nd in the majors).

During his career, Mikolas has conceded 518 base knocks while accumulating 383 strikeouts in 520 innings pitched. Mikolas (33-27 win-loss mark in his career) holds a 3.85 ERA and has allowed 9.0 hits per 9 innings. He has conceded 223 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.198 and having a FIP of 4.0. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.61 and he has faced 2,164 batters so far in his MLB career.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+180)

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