St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 5/20/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Friday, May 20, 2022

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (-135) Pittsburgh (+115)

The St. Louis Cardinals (20-17) are en route to PNC Park on Friday where they will meet the Pittsburgh Pirates (16-21). The odds on this game have St. Louis at -135 while Pittsburgh is sitting at +115. The over/under comes in at 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound will be Adam Wainwright and Zach Thompson.

St. Louis has a slugging % of .389 and have struck out 273 times, while taking a walk on 118 occasions. They have accounted for 161 runs batted in and 306 base knocks so far this season, and their batting average sits at .247. The Cardinals have earned 65 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 34 baseballs out of the park. They have 166 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .319. As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals are compiling 4.5 runs per outing, which has them at 10th in the league.

Get all of our MLB Expert Picks

The Cardinals are sitting with a team ERA of 3.67 for the year (12th in MLB), and their staff has struck out 274 batters. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.36 and the pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.25. Cardinals pitchers have yielded 34 home runs in addition to 137 runs (6th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 116 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 4.03 as a team this season.

Cardinals bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 38 times in addition to having 23 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers have notched 18 holds on the campaign (23rd in the league). The Cardinals bullpen have earned a save percentage of 80.0% and stepped onto the hill in 28 save situations. They have earned 8 saves on the year and have not converted 2 of 10 chances to save the game. The relievers have inherited 61 runners so far this year with 32.8% of them crossed the plate. The Cardinals have sent 120 relievers to the mound so far this year.

The St. Louis Cardinals have accounted for 972 putouts this year, in addition to 396 assists and 16 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .988 which puts them in 7th in pro baseball, and have earned 37 double plays. The Cardinals have turned 71.1% of balls hit into play into outs in their 2,916 innings on the field, which has them sitting at 11th in baseball.

Wainwright has thrown 2,415 innings and has tallied 2,037 strikeouts so far in his career. His ERA is 3.35 (899 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.210. He has conceded 2,268 hits (8.4 hits per nine innings) and has 656 free passes. Wainwright (188-108 career record) is the owner of a FIP of 3.43 and he has faced 9,992 opposing batters during his time in the majors.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a team on-base percentage of .294 as well as a team batting average of .224 for the year. They have struck out on 328 occasions (9th in baseball) and have earned 269 base hits. Pittsburgh has 28 home runs so far this year and 112 runs batted in. The Pirates have a team slugging % of .347 and they earn 3.30 runs per game (28th in the league). They have tallied 47 two-baggers, while walking 117 times as well as notching 122 runs.

The Pirates have a team WHIP of 1.353 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.18 as a unit on the campaign. Their strikeout to walk ratio comes in at 2.07 (296 strikeouts against 143 free passes). They rank 20th in the league as a staff in total hits allowed with 294. They have yielded 36 homers and they surrender 5.38 runs per 9 innings (28th in the league). The Pittsburgh pitching staff have allowed 193 runs on the season and come in with a team ERA of 4.68 (168 earned runs surrendered).

Sitting with 35 save situations, the Pirates have earned 17 holds in addition to 4 blown saves. Pittsburgh has called on relievers to take the mound in 15 save chances and they have walked away with 11 saves. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill 36 times in high leverage situations and on 36 occasions with runners on. Pittsburgh relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 37.7% of 53 inherited runners. They are ranked 8th in the league holding a save rate of 73.3%, and they have dispatched 121 relievers to the mound so far this season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 25 double plays and have a fielding rate of .977 (30th in MLB). The Pirates have 312 assists, 30 errors and have accumulated 969 putouts during this campaign. In their 2,907 innings on the diamond, the Pirates have a defensive efficiency of 69.7% (21st in the majors).

In his pro baseball career, Thompson has allowed 90 base knocks while accumulating 88 strikeouts in 101 frames. He has allowed 43 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.293 and having a FIP of 4.0. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.15 and he has gone up against 437 opposing hitters thus far in his career. Thompson (5-10 career win-loss mark) has a 3.82 ERA while giving up 8.0 hits per 9 innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+115)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here