Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 7/24/2020

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Friday, July 24, 2020

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: ATPT/FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Pirates (+179) Cardinals (-200)

The Pittsburgh Pirates visit Busch Stadium on Friday to play the St. Louis Cardinals. The probable starters are Joe Musgrove for the Pirates and Jack Flaherty for the Cardinals.

The opening line for this matchup has Pittsburgh at +179 and St. Louis at -200. The Pirates had a 93-63-6 over/under record and a 69-93-0 run line mark last season. The Cardinals were 94-77-0 against the run line and had a 74-88-9 over/under record.

Valuable Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Pirates were 93-63-6 against the over/under last year

The Pittsburgh Pirates were 69-93-0 against the run line last season

Important St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals were 74-88-9 against the over/under last year

The St. Louis Cardinals were 94-77-0 against the run line last season

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

7/21/2020 Gregory Polanco RF Illness Expected to be out until at least Jul 31
7/21/2020 Ke'Bryan Hayes LF Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 1
7/18/2020 Luke Maile C Finger Out for the season
7/17/2020 Keone Kela RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Jul 24
7/8/2020 Blake Cederlind RP Illness Questionable for start of season
6/30/2020 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Mar 1, 2021
6/30/2020 Kevin Kramer RF Hip Expected to be out until at least Nov 1
2/13/2020 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Mar 1, 2021

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

7/20/2020 Genesis Cabrera RP Illness Questionable for start of season
7/20/2020 Alex Reyes RP Illness Questionable for start of season
7/18/2020 Brad Miller 2B Heel Questionable for start of season
7/18/2020 Giovanny Gallegos RP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Jul 24
7/18/2020 Ricardo Sanchez SP Illness Expected to be out until at least Jul 24
7/17/2020 Dexter Fowler RF Back Questionable for start of season
7/8/2020 Elehuris Montero 3B Illness Questionable for start of season
6/28/2020 John Brebbia RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Jul 1, 2021

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Pirates had a 69-93 overall record last season. Starting pitcher Joe Musgrove had a 11-12 record with an earned run average of 4.44 and a WHIP of 1.22. He had 157 strikeouts over his 170.1 innings pitched and he gave up 168 hits. He allowed 8.9 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.82. The bullpen had an earned run average of 4.91 and they gave up 619 base hits on the year. Teams hit .253 against the bullpen while striking out 687 hitters and walking 304 batters. As a team, Pittsburgh allowed 9.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They were 26th in the league in team earned run average at 5.18. The Pirates pitchers collectively gave up 1,511 base hits and 829 earned runs last year. They allowed 241 home runs last season, ranking them 9th in the league. Pittsburgh as a pitching staff walked 584 batters and struck out 1,443. They walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 9 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.46 and their FIP as a unit was 4.78.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Pittsburgh hit .265, good for 6th in the league. The Pirates held a .420 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .321, which was good for 18th in baseball. They ranked 5th in MLB with 9.2 hits per game. Josh Bell hit .277 with an on-base percentage of .367 last year. He had 146 hits last season in 527 at bats with 116 runs batted in. He had a slugging percentage of .569 and an OPS+ of 143. Adam Frazier hit .278 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .336. He totaled 154 hits and he drove in 50 men in 554 at bats. His OPS+ was 99 while his slugging percentage was at .417. The Pirates had 1,497 hits last season, including 315 doubles and 163 home runs. Pittsburgh walked 425 times last year and they struck out 1,213 times as a unit. They left 1,103 men on base and had a team OPS of .741. They scored 4.68 runs per contest and scored a total of 758 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

St. Louis had a 91-71 overall mark last year. With an earned run average of 2.75, Jack Flaherty had a 11-8 record and a 0.97 WHIP. He had 231 strikeouts over the 196.1 innings he pitched. He also gave up 135 hits. He allowed 6.2 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.46. The bullpen had an earned run average of 3.88 and they gave up 450 base hits on the year. Teams hit .217 against the Cardinals bullpen. Their relievers struck out 607 batters and walked 235 opposing hitters. As a team, St. Louis allowed 8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings. They were 5th in the league in team earned run average at 3.8. The Cardinals pitchers as a team surrendered 1,284 base knocks and 609 earned runs last season. They gave up 191 home runs last year, which ranked 28th in Major League Baseball. St. Louis as a staff walked 545 hitters and struck out 1,399 batters. They gave up a walk 3.4 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.7 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.27 while their FIP as a staff was 4.27.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .245, good for 23rd in the league. The Cardinals held a .415 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .322, which was good for 17th in baseball. They ranked 24th in MLB with 8.3 hits per contest. Kolten Wong comes into this matchup after batting .285 with an OBP of .361 last season. He had 136 hits last year along with 59 RBI in 478 AB's. He maintained a slugging percentage of .423 with an OPS+ of 106. Paul Goldschmidt hit .260 last season and he had an OBP of .346. He collected 155 hits in 597 at bats while driving in 97 runs. He had an OPS+ of 113 and a slugging percentage of .476. The Cardinals as a unit had 1,337 base hits last season, including 246 doubles and 210 homers. St. Louis walked 561 times last year and they struck out on 1,420 occasions. They left 1,107 men on base and had an OPS of .737. They scored 4.72 runs per game and totaled 764 runs last year.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Cardinals (-200)

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