Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 6/28/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

The St. Louis Cardinals (32-45) will compete against the Houston Astros (42-36) at Busch Stadium on Wednesday. The pitchers who are expected to start are Cristian Javier and Miles Mikolas.

As a squad, the Houston Astros are notching 4.5 runs per contest, which is 15th in the league. They have earned a total of 351 runs while holding a team OBP of .315. The Astros have hit 131 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 90 baseballs out of the stadium. They have accrued 335 runs batted in and 646 hits this season, and their batting average is .246. Houston is slugging .402 and have struck out 620 times, while drawing a walk on 246 occasions.

Get all of our MLB Betting Picks

The Astros are sitting with a team earned run average of 3.57 this season (1st in baseball), and they have struck out 728 hitters. Astros pitchers have surrendered 84 home runs and 310 runs in total (3rd in baseball). They have walked 244 hitters and their FIP sits at 3.94 as a squad for the year. Houston has given up 631 base hits (8.1 per 9 innings) as well as 277 earned runs. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 2.98 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.25.

Astros bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on base 45 times and also have had 70 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 40 holds on the year (18th in the league). The Astros relief pitchers have recorded a save percentage of 62.5% and has stepped onto the mound in 73 save situations. They have 20 saves for the year and have not converted 12 out of their 32 save chances. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 69 runners on the year with 30.4% of them earned a run for their team. The Astros have sent 241 relief pitchers to the mound this year.

The Houston Astros have a tally of 2,097 putouts thus far, in addition to 669 assists and 36 errors. Their fielding rate is holding at .987 which is 7th in baseball, and they have twisted 71 double plays. The Astros have transformed 69.0% of balls hit into play into outs out of 6,291 innings, which ranks them 17th in pro baseball.

Javier has taken the ball for 387 innings and has earned 455 strikeouts so far in his pro baseball career. His ERA is 3.09 (133 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.053. He has allowed 261 base hits (6.1 hits per nine innings) and has had 147 free passes. Javier (27-13 career mark) has a FIP of 3.87 and he has gone up against 1,559 opposing hitters during his time in the majors.

St. Louis has 105 HRs over the course of the season as well as 343 runs batted in. They have put up 124 two-baggers, while taking a walk 264 times as well as notching 354 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals have tallied an OBP of .324 as well as a team batting average of .250 on the season. The Cardinals have a team SLG% of .422 and they average 4.60 runs per contest (12th in the league). They have been called out on strikes on 640 instances (21st in the league) and have tallied 658 base hits.

The Cardinals are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.445 in addition to having a FIP of 4.15 as a squad on the campaign. They rank 27th in the league as a staff in total hits relinquished with 722. The St. Louis pitching staff have yielded 370 runs on the season while holding an ERA of 4.43 (334 earned runs relinquished). Their strikeout to walk ratio is 8.30 (629 strikeouts vs 258 walks). They have yielded 76 long balls and they surrender 4.91 runs per 9 innings (25th in baseball).

St. Louis relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 27.5% of 138 inherited runners. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the mound 88 times in high leverage situations in addition to 86 occasions with base runners. With 72 save situations, the Cardinals have earned 38 holds and 15 blown saves. They are ranked 24th in the league holding a save rate of 55.9%, and they have dispatched 232 relievers to the mound on the year. St. Louis has had relief pitchers step onto the hill in 34 save chances and they have earned 19 saves.

In their 6,102 innings on the field, the Cardinals have a defensive efficiency of 66.3% (30th in professional baseball). The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten 68 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .989 (3rd in MLB). The Cardinals have racked up 717 assists, 31 errors and are sitting with 2,034 putouts this year.

So far in his pro baseball career, Mikolas has surrendered 796 base knocks while totaling 602 strikeouts in 816 frames. Mikolas (49-45 career record) has earned a 3.76 ERA while allowing 8.8 hits per 9 innings. He has allowed a total of 341 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.176 and a FIP of 4.0. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.67 and he has faced 3,376 batters thus far in his career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Louis

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here