Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 9/30/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Friday, September 30, 2022

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+180) St. Louis (-210)

The St. Louis Cardinals (90-66) will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (59-97) at Busch Stadium on Friday. The odds on this game have Pittsburgh at +180 while St. Louis is opening at -210. The total has been set at 7. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Johan Oviedo and Jack Flaherty.

The Pirates have earned 209 two-baggers as a unit and have hit 155 balls out of the park. Pittsburgh has a slugging % of .364 and have struck out 1,459 times, while being walked on 453 occasions. As a unit, the Pittsburgh Pirates are notching 3.6 runs per game, which is 27th in MLB. They have recorded 531 RBI's in addition to 1,135 base knocks for the year, while their team batting average is sitting at .221. They have tallied 565 runs and hold an on-base percentage of .289.

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Pirates pitchers have yielded 160 long balls and 784 runs (28th in MLB). Their pitching staff has walked 562 opposing hitters and their FIP comes in at 4.28 as a squad so far this year. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.15 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.42. The Pirates have compiled a team earned run average of 4.66 on the year (26th in MLB), and their staff has struck out 1,210 hitters.

The Pirates relievers have a save rate of 53.4% and has come into the game in 127 save situations. The relievers have inherited 218 base runners on the year and 38.5% of them ended up scoring. Pirates relief pitchers have gone to the mound with opponents on base 144 times as well as having 148 appearances in high leverage situations. The Pirates have dispatched 481 relief pitchers to the hill on the year. The bullpen have a total of 66 holds this year (24th in the league). They have recorded 31 saves for the year and have blown 27 of 58 save opportunities.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting with 4,104 putouts so far this season, in addition to 1,447 assists and 114 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .980 which puts them in 30th in baseball, and have accumulated 146 double plays. The Pirates have turned 67.6% of balls in play into outs out of 12,312 innings, which has them sitting 29th in the majors.

Oviedo (4-10 career mark) sits with a FIP of 4.70 while he has faced 597 batters during his time in the majors. He has allowed 123 hits (8.3 hits per nine innings) and has 68 walks. His earned run average is 4.40 (65 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.436. Oviedo has taken the ball for 133 innings and has earned 116 punch outs in his pro baseball career.

St. Louis has recorded 193 long balls so far this season to go along with 710 RBIs. They have put up 276 doubles, while walking 513 times and recording 739 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals have an OBP of .325 as well as a team batting average of .252 for the season. The Cardinals hold a team SLG% of .422 and they score 4.74 runs per contest (5th in baseball). They have been rung up on 1,186 occasions (26th in MLB) and have 1,335 base knocks.

The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.266 and have a FIP of 3.95 as a pitching staff for the year. They are currently ranked 18th in MLB as a staff in total hits given up with 1,284. The St. Louis pitching staff have allowed 611 runs on the year while holding an ERA of 3.77 (579 earned runs allowed). Their K/BB ratio sits at 2.44 (1,139 strikeouts vs 466 walks). They have given up 143 long balls and they surrender 3.98 runs per 9 innings (9th in the league).

With 116 save situations, the Cardinals have accrued 64 holds and also 16 blown saves. St. Louis has had relief pitchers enter the contest in 52 save opportunities and they have recorded 36 saves. Their relievers have stepped onto the hill 124 times in high leverage situations and on 153 occasions with base runners. St. Louis relief pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 35.1% of 231 inherited base runners. They sit at 7th in the league holding a save percentage of 69.2%, and they have sent 445 relievers onto the diamond over the course of the season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten 174 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .989 (1st in the majors). The Cardinals have accrued 1,637 assists, 63 errors and have notched a total of 4,148 putouts over the course of the season. In 12,444 innings on the field, the Cardinals have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 70.3% (8th in MLB).

So far in his career, Flaherty has allowed 387 base hits while he has totaled 593 strikeouts in 516 frames. He has allowed 197 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.110 and having a FIP of 3.9. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.19 and he has faced 2,112 hitters so far in his MLB career. Flaherty (33-25 record in his career) has earned a 3.43 earned run average while giving up 6.7 hits per nine innings.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+180)

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