Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 7/22/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Thursday, July 22, 2021

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Chicago (-105) St. Louis (-116)

Busch Stadium is the venue where Kwang Hyun Kim and the St. Louis Cardinals (47-48, 4th in NL Central) will take on the Chicago Cubs (47-48, 3rd in NL Central) on Thursday. The Cubs open this matchup at -105 while the Cardinals are priced at -116. The total opens at 8. The men taking the mound will be Adbert Alzolay and Kwang Hyun Kim.

The Cubs have hit 123 two-baggers as a team and have hit 119 baseballs out of the park. Chicago has a slugging rate of .393 and have been called out on strikes 918 times, while drawing a walk on 300 occasions. As a squad, the Chicago Cubs are putting up 4.2 runs per contest, which ranks them 20th in baseball. They have amassed 383 runs batted in in addition to 697 hits on the campaign, while their batting average is at .226. They have a total of 401 runs scored and have an on-base percentage of .305.

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The Cubs have an ERA of 4.12 on the campaign (14th in the league), and they have struck out 836 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 362 hitters and their FIP sits at 4.60 as a unit on the year. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 2.31 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.32. Cubs pitchers have given up 123 long balls and 425 runs in total (17th in the league).

The Cubs relief pitchers have accumulated a save percentage of 73.5% and has come into the game in 94 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 150 base runners over the course of the season with 30.0% of those players earned a run for their team. Cubs bullpen pitchers have entered the contest with runners on 95 times and also have had 100 appearances in high leverage situations. The Cubs have sent 349 relievers to the hill so far this season. The bullpen have a total of 59 holds over the course of the season (6th in the league). They have 25 saves this season and have blown 9 out of their 34 chances to save the game.

The Chicago Cubs are sitting with 2,496 putouts so far this season, as well as 905 assists and 54 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .984 which has them ranked 10th in MLB, and they have twisted 593 double plays. The Cubs have turned 70.7% of balls hit into play into outs in their 7,488 innings on the diamond, which ranks them 7th in the majors.

Alzolay has taken the ball for 116 innings and has accumulated 125 strikeouts in his MLB career. Alzolay (6-11 win-loss mark in his career) has a FIP of 4.95 while he has faced 483 opposing hitters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 4.58 (59 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.190. He has surrendered 92 base knocks (7.1 hits per 9 innings) and has had 46 free passes.

The St. Louis Cardinals have tallied an OBP of .301 and a team batting average of .231 on the campaign. They have been called out on strikes on 767 instances (27th in baseball) and have a total of 720 base hits. St. Louis has knocked in 103 home runs so far this year as well as 363 runs batted in. The Cardinals have a SLG% of .382 and they average 3.99 runs per contest (26th in MLB). They have put up 142 doubles, while getting a free base 275 times and scoring 379 runs.

The St. Louis pitching staff have allowed 417 runs so far this year and come in with a team ERA of 4.22 (387 earned runs conceded). They have surrendered 82 HR's and they concede 4.54 runs per 9 innings (13th in the league). The Cardinals have a WHIP of 1.362 in addition to having a FIP of 4.41 as a unit so far this season. Their K/BB ratio comes in at 1.79 (738 strikeouts against 412 bases on balls). They are sitting at 9th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 713.

Sitting with 84 save situations, the Cardinals have recorded 47 holds in addition to 8 blown saves. St. Louis has called on relievers to take the mound in 35 save chances and they have earned 27 saves. Their relief pitchers have come in 88 times in high leverage situations and also on 107 occasions with runners on base. St. Louis relief pitchers have an inherited score rate of 40.8% out of 184 inherited base runners. They are ranked 1st in baseball with a save percentage of 77.1%, and they have dispatched 326 relievers to the mound on the season.

Out of their 7,437 innings on the field, the Cardinals hold a efficiency on defense of 71.1% (5th in pro baseball). The St. Louis Cardinals have twisted 71 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .984 (11th in baseball). The Cardinals have 858 assists, 53 errors and have notched a total of 2,479 putouts over the course of the season.

So far in his career, Kim has surrendered 97 base knocks while tallying 84 punch outs in 117 innings. He has allowed 32 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.159 and having a FIP of 3.8. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.15 and he has faced 483 batters during his MLB career. Kim (8-5 career mark) is the owner of a 2.45 ERA and has conceded 7.4 hits per nine innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Chicago (-105)

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