Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 10/2/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Sunday, October 2, 2022

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+155) St. Louis (-180)

The Pittsburgh Pirates (59-98) are en route to Busch Stadium on Sunday where they will go up against the St. Louis Cardinals (91-66). The moneyline on this game has the Pirates at +155 and the Cardinals are at -180. The total is 8.5. The men taking the mound are Roansy Contreras and Adam Wainwright.

The Pirates have accumulated 211 doubles as a squad and have knocked 155 baseballs out of the park. Pittsburgh has a slugging % of .363 and have been called out on strikes 1,469 times, while being walked on 458 occasions. As a unit, the Pittsburgh Pirates are scoring 3.6 runs per game, which has them at 27th in the league. They have accounted for 532 runs batted in as well as 1,141 base knocks this season, while their batting average is .221. They have accumulated 566 runs scored and hold an on-base percentage of .290.

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The Pirates hold a team ERA of 4.65 on the season (26th in MLB), and their staff has rung up 1,215 hitters. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.15 and the pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.42. Pirates pitchers have surrendered 161 long balls and also 786 runs in total (27th in baseball). They have walked 565 batters and their FIP comes in at 4.28 as a unit on the season.

Pirates relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with opponents on base 144 times and also have had 148 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers are sitting with 66 holds on the year (24th in the league). The Pirates bullpen have recorded a save percentage of 53.4% and stepped onto the hill in 127 save situations. They have compiled 31 saves this year and have missed out on 27 of 58 chances to save the game. The relievers have inherited 218 runners on the campaign with 38.5% of those runners crossed the plate. The Pirates have dispatched 483 relief pitchers to the hill for the season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have notched a total of 4,128 putouts thus far, in addition to 1,458 assists and 115 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .980 which is 30th in professional baseball, and have a total of 147 double plays. The Pirates have transformed 67.7% of balls hit into play into outs in their 12,384 innings, which ranks them 27th in pro baseball.

Contreras has thrown 95 innings and has 90 punch outs so far in his pro baseball career. Contreras (5-5 win-loss mark in his career) holds a FIP of 4.13 while he has gone up against 405 batters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.60 (38 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.263. He has given up 82 hits (7.8 hits per 9 innings) and has had 38 free passes.

St. Louis has recorded 194 home runs on the year and 712 runs batted in. They have 276 two-baggers, while taking a walk 516 times and earning 741 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals have compiled a team on-base percentage of .325 in addition to a batting average of .252 for the year. The Cardinals hold a team SLG% of .421 and they average 4.72 runs per outing (6th in baseball). They have been called out on strikes on 1,191 instances (26th in the league) and are sitting with 1,341 base knocks.

The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.266 and have a FIP of 3.94 as a pitching staff so far this season. Their K/BB ratio comes in at 2.44 (1,149 strikeouts against 471 free passes). They are currently ranked 16th in MLB as a staff in total hits surrendered with 1,290. They have given up 143 homers and they concede 3.96 runs per 9 innings (9th in baseball). The St. Louis pitching staff have conceded 612 runs over the course of the season while having a team ERA of 3.75 (580 earned runs given up).

St. Louis has called on relief pitchers to step onto the mound in 53 save opportunities and they have walked away with 37 saves. They rank 7th in baseball with a save rate of 69.8%, and they have dispatched 448 bullpen pitchers to the mound for the season. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 127 times in high leverage situations and on 154 occasions with runners on. St. Louis relievers hold an inherited score rate of 34.8% out of their 233 inherited runners. With 119 save situations, the Cardinals have earned 66 holds in addition to 16 blown saves.

The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten 174 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .989 (1st in MLB). The Cardinals have recorded 1,644 assists, 63 errors and have notched a total of 4,175 putouts for the year. Out of their 12,525 innings on the field, the Cardinals have earned a defensive efficiency of 70.3% (8th in professional baseball).

So far in his pro baseball career, Wainwright has given up 2,420 base knocks while accumulating 2,143 strikeouts in 2,562 innings. Wainwright (195-116 career mark) has earned a 3.36 ERA while conceding 8.5 hits per nine innings. He has allowed a total of 958 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.215 and having a FIP of 3.4. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.09 and he has faced 10,610 opposing batters so far in his pro baseball career.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+155)

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