St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 5/21/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Saturday, May 21, 2022

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

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

The Pittsburgh Pirates (16-21) welcome the St. Louis Cardinals (20-18) at PNC Park on Saturday. The odds on this game have St. Louis at -135 and Pittsburgh is coming in at +115. The betting total is set at 8.5. The expected starting pitchers will be Johan Oviedo and Jose Quintana.

The Cardinals have hit 67 two-baggers as a team and have hit 36 balls out of the park. St. Louis is slugging .393 and have been called out on strikes 278 times, while drawing a walk on 121 occasions. As a unit, the St. Louis Cardinals are knocking in 4.5 runs per game, which puts them at 10th in MLB. They have amassed 166 runs batted in and 319 hits over the course of the season, and their team batting average is at .249. They have notched a total of 172 runs while holding a team OBP of .321.

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Cardinals pitchers have yielded 35 long balls and also 144 total runs (7th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 119 hitters and their FIP sits at 4.05 as a squad on the season. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 2.35 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.26. The Cardinals hold a team earned run average of 3.73 on the year (14th in the league), and their staff has struck out 280 batters.

Cardinals relief pitchers have entered the contest with opponents on base 40 times and also have had 25 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have notched 18 holds so far this year (24th in MLB). The Cardinals bullpen have a save percentage of 72.7% and has entered the game in 29 save situations. They have accumulated 8 saves so far this season and have missed out on 3 of their 11 chances to save the game. The relievers have inherited 62 runners over the course of the season with 33.9% of those runners crossed the plate. The Cardinals have dispatched 125 relievers to the mound so far this season.

The Cardinals have turned 70.9% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 2,997 innings, which has them sitting 12th in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals have earned a total of 999 putouts this season, as well as 408 assists and 16 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .989 which puts them in 6th in pro baseball, and they have turned 39 double plays.

Oviedo has taken the hill for 87 innings and is sitting with 67 punch outs during his MLB career. Oviedo (0-8 record in his career) sits with a FIP of 5.28 while facing 400 batters in the majors. His ERA is 5.07 (49 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.517. He has surrendered 85 hits (8.8 hits per nine innings) and has had 47 walks.

The Pirates hold a team slugging % of .347 and they tally 3.30 runs per contest (29th in MLB). They have recorded 47 doubles, while getting a free base 117 times as well as scoring 122 runs. Pittsburgh is sitting with 28 HRs this year as well as 112 runs batted in. They have been rung up on 328 occasions (11th in the league) and have earned 269 base knocks. The Pittsburgh Pirates have accumulated an OBP of .294 as well as a batting average of .224 for the year.

The Pirates are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.353 and have a FIP of 4.19 as a team this season. They have a ranking of 16th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 294. The Pittsburgh pitching staff have given up 193 runs so far this year and come in with a team ERA of 4.68 (168 earned runs given up). Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.07 (296 strikeouts against 143 bases on balls). They have relinquished 36 long balls and they relinquish 5.38 runs per 9 innings (28th in MLB).

Pittsburgh bullpen pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 37.7% out of their 53 inherited runners. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 36 times in high leverage situations and on 36 occasions with runners on. Sitting with 35 save situations, the Pirates have earned 17 holds and 4 blown saves. They rank 5th in the league holding a save rate of 73.3%, and they have dispatched 121 relievers to the hill on the season. Pittsburgh has called on relief pitchers to take the mound in 15 save chances and they have tallied 11 saves.

In 2,907 innings on the diamond, the Pirates have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 69.7% (20th in the majors). The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 25 double plays and have a fielding rate of .977 (29th in baseball). The Pirates have racked up 312 assists, 30 errors and have amassed 969 putouts on the campaign.

So far in his pro baseball career, Quintana has surrendered 1,570 base hits while he has totaled 1,425 strikeouts in 1,595 innings pitched. Quintana (84-81 career win-loss record) holds a 3.80 ERA while giving up 8.9 hits per 9 innings. He has surrendered 673 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.280 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.7. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.03 and he has gone up against 6,690 hitters in his career.

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

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

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