Pittsburgh Pirates vs Philadelphia Phillies Prediction, 9/23/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Philadelphia Phillies

Date: Thursday, September 23, 2021

Location: Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+220) Philadelphia (-323)

Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies (77-74, 2nd in NL East) play the Pittsburgh Pirates (57-94, 5th in NL Central) at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday. The line on this matchup has the Pirates priced at +220 and the Phillies are at -323. The O/U opens at 8. The starting pitchers will be Wil Crowe and Aaron Nola.

As a team, the Pittsburgh Pirates are knocking in 3.7 runs per game, which has them at 30th in baseball. They have tallied 560 runs and have an on-base percentage of .307. The Pirates have tallied 229 doubles as a squad and have hit 117 balls out of the park. They have tallied 524 runs batted in in addition to 1,172 base knocks on the season, while their batting average sits at .235. Pittsburgh has a slugging % of .363 and have been called out on strikes 1,233 times, while drawing a walk on 487 occasions.

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The Pirates have a team ERA of 5.02 on the season (28th in baseball), and the staff has rung up 1,218 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 558 opposing batters and their FIP is 4.68 as a squad for the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.18 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.42. Pirates pitchers have surrendered 194 long balls and 765 total runs (26th in the league).

The Pirates have sent 533 relievers to the mound on the season. The relievers have inherited 183 runners for the season with 33.9% of them crossed home plate. They have earned 23 saves on the campaign and have blown 19 of their 42 save opportunities. The Pirates relievers have earned a save percentage of 54.8% and has come into the game in 113 save situations. The bullpen have earned 68 holds for the season (21st in baseball). Pirates bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 110 times and also have had 122 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have accumulated 3,904 putouts for the season, as well as 1,292 assists and 67 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .987 which is 4th in professional baseball, and they have turned 1,060 double plays. The Pirates have converted 68.9% of balls in play into outs out of their 11,712 innings, which has them ranked 23rd in professional baseball.

Crowe has pitched in 114 innings and has earned 108 punch outs in his career. His earned run average is 6.22 (79 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.662. He has allowed 131 base knocks (10.3 hits per nine innings) and has 59 walks. Crowe (4-9 career record) has a FIP of 6.19 while he has faced 525 opposing hitters in the major leagues.

The Phillies have a team slugging % of .410 and they are scoring 4.58 runs per game (12th in the league). They have 248 doubles, while taking a walk 530 times as well as putting up 691 runs. Philadelphia has hit 183 home runs on the campaign to go along with 659 RBIs. They have struck out on 1,298 occasions (18th in MLB) and have earned 1,208 hits. The Philadelphia Phillies have an on-base percentage of .319 in addition to a team batting average of .241 for the year.

The Phillies have a team WHIP of 1.294 and have a FIP of 4.17 as a squad on the campaign. They are sitting at 16th in the league as a staff in total hits allowed with 1,248. The Philadelphia pitching staff have given up 702 runs so far this year while holding an ERA of 4.42 (651 earned runs allowed). Their K/BB ratio comes in at 2.96 (1,380 strikeouts against 466 free passes). They have conceded 192 HR's and they allow 4.77 runs per 9 innings (19th in the league).

Philadelphia relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 41.2% out of their 216 inherited base runners. Their relievers have come in 157 times in high leverage situations and on 138 occasions with runners on. With 140 save situations, the Phillies have 68 holds in addition to 32 blown saves. They are ranked 27th in the league with a save percentage of 51.5%, and they have dispatched 492 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond this season. Philadelphia has had relievers take the mound in 66 save opportunities and they have tallied 34 saves.

The Philadelphia Phillies have turned 129 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .984 (21st in baseball). The Phillies have 1,348 assists, 89 errors and have a total of 3,974 putouts over the course of the season. Out of their 11,922 innings played, the Phillies have a defensive efficiency of 68.6% (25th in pro baseball).

During his pro baseball career, Nola has surrendered 875 base knocks while he has accumulated 1,133 strikeouts in 1,011 innings pitched. Nola (66-48 career mark) has a 3.64 earned run average while allowing 7.8 hits per 9 innings. He has allowed 409 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.156 and a FIP of 3.4. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.85 and he has faced 4,163 opposing batters so far in his pro baseball career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Philadelphia (-323)

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