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

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Friday, September 9, 2022

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

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

The St. Louis Cardinals (81-56) are traveling to PNC Park on Friday where they will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (50-86). The moneyline on this matchup has St. Louis at -210 and Pittsburgh is priced at +180. The total comes in at 8. The expected starting pitchers are Miles Mikolas and Roansy Contreras.

As a squad, the St. Louis Cardinals are knocking in 4.9 runs per contest, which is 4th in baseball. They have a total of 672 runs scored and have an OBP of .329. The Cardinals have compiled 241 doubles as a team and have hit 173 balls out of the park. They have accumulated 646 RBI's as well as 1,198 hits for the season, while their team batting average is sitting at .257. St. Louis has a slugging rate of .429 and have struck out 1,048 times, while drawing a walk on 450 occasions.

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The Cardinals have an earned run average of 3.76 over the course of the season (9th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 991 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 406 opposing players and their FIP comes in at 3.94 as a team over the course of the season. They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.44 and the pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.25. Cardinals pitchers have relinquished 124 home runs and 536 runs in total (8th in MLB).

The Cardinals relievers have a save percentage of 66.0% and stepped onto the hill in 105 save situations. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 208 base runners so far this year with 35.1% of those players ended up crossing the plate. Cardinals relief pitchers have come into the game with runners on base 137 times in addition to having 111 appearances in high leverage situations. The Cardinals have sent 388 relievers to the hill on the year. The relief pitchers have recorded 58 holds so far this season (25th in MLB). They have earned 31 saves for the year and have blown 16 out of their 47 save opportunities.

The Cardinals have turned 70.5% of balls in play into outs in their 10,941 innings, which ranks them 8th in professional baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals have accounted for 3,647 putouts on the campaign, in addition to 1,464 assists and 56 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .989 which has them sitting 1st in pro baseball, and have a total of 154 double plays.

Mikolas (44-37 career win-loss mark) has a FIP of 3.96 while he has gone up against 2,863 batters during his time in the major leagues. He has given up 665 hits (8.6 hits per nine innings) and has had 137 walks. His ERA is 3.72 (288 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.151. Mikolas has pitched in 697 frames and is sitting with 510 K's during his MLB career.

The Pittsburgh Pirates hold a team OBP of .286 as well as a batting average of .219 for the year. They have struck out on 1,269 occasions (2nd in baseball) and have earned a total of 980 base hits. Pittsburgh has tallied 131 long balls so far this season to go along with 446 RBIs. The Pirates have a team slugging percentage of .359 and they score 3.50 runs per contest (28th in MLB). They have put up 178 two-baggers, while walking 383 times and scoring 476 runs.

The Pittsburgh pitching staff have conceded 693 runs this year while holding a team ERA of 4.69 (622 earned runs conceded). They have relinquished 139 HR's and they relinquish 5.23 runs per 9 innings (28th in MLB). The Pirates hold a team WHIP of 1.438 in addition to having a FIP of 4.28 as a unit so far this season. Their K/BB ratio is 2.14 (1,039 strikeouts against 486 walks). They sit at 27th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 1,229.

Pittsburgh has had relief pitchers step onto the hill in 49 save opportunities and they have tallied 27 saves. They rank 27th in MLB with a save rate of 55.1%, and they have dispatched 426 relievers to the mound for the season. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 137 times in high leverage situations and on 130 occasions with runners on. Pittsburgh relievers have an inherited score percentage of 37.4% out of 198 inherited base runners. With 111 save situations, the Pirates have accumulated 59 holds in addition to 22 blown saves.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 134 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .980 (30th in MLB). The Pirates have accrued 1,284 assists, 97 errors and have earned 3,579 putouts during this campaign. In 10,737 innings on the diamond, the Pirates have a defensive efficiency of 67.3% (30th in baseball).

Contreras (4-4 career win-loss mark) has earned a 3.27 earned run average while surrendering 7.8 hits per nine innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.18 and he has faced 330 batters during his career. He has surrendered a total of 28 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.312 and a FIP of 4.3. Thus far in his career, Contreras has allowed 67 base hits and he has 74 strikeouts in 77 frames.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take St. Louis (-210)

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