St. Louis Cardinals vs Atlanta Braves Prediction, 6/17/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Atlanta Braves

Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021

Location: Truist Park in Cumberland, GA

TV: Bally Sports South

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (+125) Atlanta (-161)

Truist Park is the site where Charlie Morton and the Atlanta Braves (30-34, 3rd in NL East) will take on the St. Louis Cardinals (34-33, 4th in NL Central) on Thursday. The Cardinals open this game at +125 while the Braves are priced at -161. The O/U has been set at 9. The expected starting pitchers will be John Gant and Charlie Morton.

St. Louis owns a slugging percentage of .386 and have struck out 571 times, while being walked on 202 occasions. They have accrued 261 runs batted in in addition to 508 base knocks this year, while their batting average is at .230. The Cardinals have accumulated 106 doubles as a unit and have hit 75 balls out of the park. They have accounted for 276 runs scored and have an on-base percentage of .302. As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals are notching 4.1 runs per game, which has them sitting at 20th in MLB.

Cardinals pitchers have surrendered 55 home runs and 304 runs in total (17th in MLB). Their pitching staff has walked 291 opposing players and their FIP is 4.28 as a squad so far this year. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.86 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.34. The Cardinals hold a team ERA of 4.24 this season (18th in the league), and they have rung up 541 hitters.

The Cardinals relief pitchers have recorded a save percentage of 77.8% and has come into the game in 60 save situations. The relievers have inherited 125 base runners so far this season and 45.6% of those runners crossed home plate. Cardinals pitchers have entered the game with opponents on base 69 times in addition to having 62 appearances in high leverage situations. The Cardinals have sent 225 relief pitchers to the hill so far this season. The bullpen are sitting with 31 holds on the year (18th in the league). They have earned 21 saves so far this season and have blown 6 out of their 27 save chances.

The Cardinals have turned 70.8% of baseballs in play into outs in their 5,274 innings on the field, which has them ranked 8th in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals have 1,758 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 591 assists and 46 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .981 which has them sitting 26th in MLB, and have a total of 465 double plays.

Gant has taken the hill for 319 innings and has earned 275 K's in his pro baseball career. Gant (23-19 win-loss record in his career) is the owner of a FIP of 4.27 while going up against 1,372 batters in the majors. His ERA is 3.72 (132 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.392. He has conceded 273 base hits (7.7 hits per 9 innings) with 171 walks.

The Atlanta Braves hold an OBP of .317 as well as a team batting average of .236 this year. They have struck out on 609 occasions (11th in MLB) and have earned 497 base hits. Atlanta has a total of 93 long balls for the year to go along with 295 RBIs. The Braves hold a slugging % of .426 and they are scoring 4.83 runs per contest (9th in MLB). They have put up 105 doubles, while getting a free base 227 times and notching 309 runs.

The Braves are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.334 in addition to having a FIP of 4.35 as a unit on the campaign. They come in at 18th in MLB as a staff in total hits given up with 530. The Atlanta pitching staff have given up 313 runs for the year while holding an ERA of 4.43 (277 earned runs relinquished). Their K/BB ratio sits at 2.61 (576 strikeouts vs 221 bases on balls). They have surrendered 82 homers and they yield 5.00 runs per 9 innings (23rd in baseball).

With 67 save situations, the Braves have accumulated 42 holds in addition to 11 blown saves. Atlanta has called on relievers to enter the contest in 24 save chances and they have earned 13 saves. Their relievers have stepped onto the hill 105 times in high leverage situations in addition to 62 occasions with runners on. Atlanta bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 37.5% out of their 96 inherited base runners. They are ranked 24th in the league with a save percentage of 54.2%, and they have sent 239 bullpen pitchers to the mound for the year.

The Atlanta Braves have turned 42 double plays and have a fielding rate of .984 (11th in pro baseball). The Braves have recorded 593 assists, 37 errors and have earned 1,689 putouts so far this year. Out of their 5,067 innings on the field, the Braves have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 69.1% (21st in pro baseball).

Morton (98-92 career record) has a 4.10 ERA while giving up 8.7 hits per nine innings. His K/BB ratio is 2.48 and he has gone up against 6,486 opposing hitters during his MLB career. He has given up 686 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.333 and having a FIP of 3.8. So far in his MLB career, Morton has allowed 1,462 hits while earning 1,351 punch outs in 1,505 innings pitched.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take St. Louis (+125)

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