Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 7/26/2020

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Sunday, July 26, 2020

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: ATPT/FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Pirates (+145) Cardinals (-160)

Busch Stadium is the site of the matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. The probable starting pitchers are Mitch Keller for the Pirates and Dakota Hudson for the Cardinals.

Pittsburgh opens at +145 while St. Louis opens at -160. The Pirates had a 93-63-6 over/under record and a 69-93-0 run line mark last year. 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 season

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

Important St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

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

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

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

7/23/2020 Luke Maile C Finger Out for the season
7/23/2020 JT Riddle SS Abdomen Expected to be out until at least Aug 1
7/21/2020 Gregory Polanco RF Illness Expected to be out until at least Jul 31
7/17/2020 Keone Kela RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Jul 24
6/30/2020 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Out for the season
6/30/2020 Kevin Kramer RF Hip Out for the season
2/13/2020 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Out for the season

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

7/23/2020 Giovanny Gallegos RP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 4
7/23/2020 Brad Miller 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Aug 3
7/20/2020 Genesis Cabrera RP Illness Probable for Jul 24
7/20/2020 Alex Reyes RP Illness Probable for Jul 24
7/18/2020 Ricardo Sanchez SP Illness Expected to be out until at least Jul 24
7/8/2020 Elehuris Montero 3B Illness Probable for Jul 24
6/28/2020 John Brebbia RP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Pirates had a 69-93 overall record last season. Starting pitcher Mitch Keller had a 1-5 record with an earned run average of 7.13 and a WHIP of 1.83. He had 65 strikeouts over his 48 innings pitched and he gave up 72 hits. He allowed 13.5 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.19. 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 and they struck out 687 hitters while 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. Kevin Newman hit .308 with an on-base percentage of .353 last year. He had 152 hits last season in 493 at bats with 64 runs batted in. He had a slugging percentage of .446 and an OPS+ of 111. Colin Moran hit .277 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .322. He totaled 129 hits and he drove in 80 men in 466 at bats. His OPS+ was 97 while his slugging percentage was at .429. 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 3.35, Dakota Hudson had a 16-7 record and a 1.41 WHIP. He had 136 strikeouts over the 174.2 innings he pitched. He also gave up 160 hits. He allowed 8.2 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 4.93. 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. Paul DeJong comes into this matchup after batting .233 with an OBP of .318 last season. He had 136 hits last year along with 78 RBI in 583 AB's. He maintained a slugging percentage of .444 with an OPS+ of 97. Yadier Molina hit .270 last season and he had an OBP of .312. He collected 113 hits in 419 at bats while driving in 57 runs. He had an OPS+ of 85 and a slugging percentage of .399. 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?

Tony's Pick: Take the Pirates (+145)

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