New York Mets vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 8/18/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New York Mets vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Friday, August 18, 2023

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Busch Stadium is the location where the St. Louis Cardinals (54-67) will play the New York Mets (55-66) on Friday. The men taking the mound are Joey Lucchesi and Zach Thompson.

As a squad, the New York Mets are earning 4.4 runs per contest, which is 19th in baseball. They have earned a total of 526 runs and hold an on-base percentage of .318. The Mets have tallied 162 two-baggers as a unit and have hit 153 balls out of the park. They have tallied 513 runs batted in and 943 base knocks this year, while their team batting average sits at .237. New York owns a slugging percentage of .400 and have struck out 956 times, while being walked on 411 occasions.

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The Mets have a team earned run average of 4.53 for the season (20th in the league), and the staff has struck out 1,027 batters. Mets pitchers have yielded 152 home runs and 575 total runs (19th in MLB). Their pitching staff has walked 453 players from the other team and their FIP is 4.65 as a unit for the season. New York has relinquished 1,009 hits (8.6 per 9 innings) and 532 earned runs. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.27 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.38.

The Mets have dispatched 399 relief pitchers to the hill so far this season. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 176 runners for the season with 30.1% of them crossed home plate. They have accumulated 27 saves over the course of the season and have blown 14 of 41 save opportunities. The Mets bullpen have a save rate of 65.9% and has come into the game in 113 save situations. The relief pitchers have recorded 68 holds on the year (12th in the league). Mets relief pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on base 119 times in addition to having 112 appearances in high leverage situations.

The New York Mets are sitting with 3,169 putouts so far this season, as well as 1,045 assists and 66 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .985 which has them sitting 22nd in pro baseball, and they have twisted 106 double plays. The Mets have transformed 68.9% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 9,507 innings, which has them sitting 18th in baseball.

Lucchesi has taken the ball for 360 frames and has earned 366 K's during his career. Lucchesi (20-24 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a FIP of 4.18 and he has faced 1,516 opposing hitters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 4.25 (170 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.272. He has allowed 338 base knocks (8.5 hits per 9 innings) with 120 free passes.

St. Louis has 169 home runs on the season as well as 545 RBIs. They have 203 two-baggers, while taking a walk 417 times as well as earning 564 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals have earned an OBP of .333 in addition to a team batting average of .259 over the course of the season. The Cardinals have a team SLG% of .436 and they are scoring 4.66 runs per outing (12th in the league). They have been called out on strikes on 994 instances (21st in the league) and have accounted for 1,073 base knocks.

The St. Louis pitching staff have given up 594 runs for the season while holding an ERA of 4.55 (540 earned runs given up). They have allowed 118 homers and they yield 5.01 runs per 9 innings (24th in MLB). The Cardinals have a WHIP of 1.431 and have a FIP of 4.15 as a staff on the year. Their K/BB ratio comes in at 8.00 (954 strikeouts against 388 bases on balls). They sit at 29th in MLB as a staff in total hits relinquished with 1,139.

St. Louis bullpen pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 30.2% out of their 215 inherited base runners. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 130 times in high leverage situations and on 132 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 116 save situations, the Cardinals have recorded 63 holds and also 25 blown saves. They sit at 27th in baseball with a save percentage of 51.9%, and they have dispatched 358 relievers onto the field so far this year. St. Louis has called on bullpen pitchers to take the mound in 52 save opportunities and they have come away with 27 saves.

In 9,606 innings played, the Cardinals are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 66.7% (30th in pro baseball). The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 112 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .989 (2nd in baseball). The Cardinals have accrued 1,168 assists, 47 errors and have earned 3,202 putouts this year.

So far in his career, Thompson has surrendered 201 hits while he has totaled 156 K's in 196 innings. He has conceded a total of 97 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.398 and a FIP of 4.4. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.11 and he has gone up against 858 hitters during his career. Thompson (6-17 win-loss record in his career) has earned a 4.44 ERA while conceding 9.2 hits per 9 innings.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take St. Louis

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