St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 7/20/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Thursday, July 20, 2023

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Marquee

The St. Louis Cardinals (42-53) are en route to Wrigley Field on Thursday where they will take on the Chicago Cubs (44-50). The pitchers who are expected to start are Steven Matz and Marcus Stroman.

St. Louis has a slugging % of .430 and have been called out on strikes 799 times, while drawing a walk on 325 occasions. They have recorded 434 runs batted in in addition to 832 hits this year, and their team batting average is sitting at .256. The Cardinals have tallied 160 doubles as a team and have smacked 130 baseballs out of the stadium. They have notched a total of 448 runs while holding a team OBP of .330. As a unit, the St. Louis Cardinals are putting up 4.7 runs per outing, which ranks them 13th in baseball.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.37 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.45. Cardinals pitchers have given up 92 home runs and 471 total runs (24th in the league). St. Louis has conceded 894 base hits (9.6 per 9 innings) and also 422 earned runs. The Cardinals have compiled a team ERA of 4.53 on the year (24th in the league), and the staff has rung up 770 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 325 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 4.18 as a squad on the year.

Cardinals relief pitchers have entered the contest with players on base 110 times and also have had 114 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have tallied 48 holds so far this season (18th in the league). The Cardinals relief pitchers have accumulated a save rate of 52.3% and has come into the game in 92 save situations. They have compiled 23 saves on the campaign and have not converted 21 of their 44 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 181 base runners so far this year with 29.8% of those players earned a run for their team. The Cardinals have sent 290 relievers to the hill on the season.

The Cardinals have turned 66.4% of baseballs in play into outs out of 7,554 innings, ranking them 30th in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals have accumulated 2,518 putouts so far this season, as well as 899 assists and 41 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .988 which ranks 4th in pro baseball, and have accumulated 86 double plays.

Matz has pitched in 854 innings and is sitting with 823 strikeouts during his career. Matz (50-58 win-loss mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 4.31 and he has faced 3,672 hitters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 4.35 (413 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.336. He has surrendered 880 hits (9.3 hits per nine innings) and has had 261 free passes.

The Chicago Cubs have tallied a team OBP of .328 as well as a batting average of .250 this season. They have been rung up on 868 occasions (7th in baseball) and have a total of 797 base hits. Chicago is sitting with 104 home runs this season as well as 434 RBIs. The Cubs have a team SLG% of .401 and they average 4.79 runs per contest (10th in baseball). They have recorded 137 doubles, while getting a free base 340 times as well as recording 450 runs.

The Cubs are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.270 with a FIP of 4.20 as a unit for the year. They rank 10th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 764. The Chicago pitching staff have relinquished 417 runs this season while holding a team ERA of 4.14 (382 earned runs allowed). Their K/BB ratio comes in at 8.30 (769 strikeouts against 291 free passes). They have surrendered 101 home runs and they allow 4.52 runs per 9 innings (16th in baseball).

Chicago has called on bullpen pitchers to enter the game in 21 save opportunities and they have come away with 13 saves. They are currently ranked 16th in the league with a save rate of 61.9%, and they have dispatched 285 bullpen pitchers to the mound so far this season. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 67 times in high leverage situations in addition to 71 occasions with base runners. Chicago relievers hold an inherited score rate of 30.8% out of 117 inherited runners. With 60 save situations, the Cubs have amassed 38 holds in addition to 8 blown saves.

In 7,479 innings played, the Cubs are sitting with a efficiency on defense of 69.9% (9th in professional baseball). The Chicago Cubs have gotten 82 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .986 (16th in baseball). The Cubs have recorded 857 assists, 48 errors and have accounted for 2,493 putouts on the season.

So far in his career, Stroman has allowed 1,224 base hits while accumulating 1,073 strikeouts in 1,285 innings. Stroman (77-73 win-loss record in his career) has earned a 3.55 ERA while surrendering 8.6 hits per nine innings. He has allowed 507 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.237 and a FIP of 3.6. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.93 and he has faced 5,323 hitters so far in his career.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take St. Louis

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