St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 7/22/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Saturday, July 22, 2023

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Marquee

The St. Louis Cardinals (44-53) are on their way to Wrigley Field on Saturday where they will try to defeat the Chicago Cubs (45-51). The pitchers taking the mound will be Miles Mikolas and Drew Smyly.

St. Louis has a slugging rate of .432 and have struck out 814 times, while taking a walk on 335 occasions. They have accrued 446 runs batted in and 853 hits on the year, while their team batting average comes in at .257. The Cardinals have accumulated 165 doubles as a team and have knocked 133 baseballs out of the park. They have a total of 461 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .332. As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals are scoring 4.8 runs per contest, which has them at 11th in MLB.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.37 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.45. Cardinals pitchers have relinquished 93 home runs and also 477 total runs (24th in the league). St. Louis has allowed 912 hits (9.6 per 9 innings) and 428 earned runs. The Cardinals have a team ERA of 4.49 so far this season (22nd in MLB), and the staff has rung up 782 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 330 players from the other team and their FIP comes in at 4.16 as a squad on the season.

The Cardinals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 53.3% and stepped onto the hill in 96 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 185 runners this season and 29.2% of them ended up crossing the plate. Cardinals relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 112 times in addition to having 116 appearances in high leverage situations. The Cardinals have sent 298 relief pitchers to the hill so far this year. The bullpen have accumulated 51 holds so far this year (15th in baseball). They have recorded 24 saves over the course of the season and have not converted 21 of their 45 chances to get a save.

The St. Louis Cardinals have accumulated 2,572 putouts for the season, in addition to 923 assists and 41 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .988 which has them ranked 5th in baseball, and they have twisted 88 double plays. The Cardinals have converted 66.5% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 7,716 innings on the diamond, ranking them 30th in baseball.

Mikolas (51-45 win-loss record in his career) sits with a FIP of 3.96 and he has gone up against 3,486 batters in the majors. He has surrendered 818 base knocks (8.7 hits per nine innings) with 169 walks. His ERA is 3.76 (353 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.169. Mikolas has taken the hill for 844 innings and is sitting with 619 punch outs in his MLB career.

The Cubs have a team SLG% of .403 and they are scoring 4.79 runs per game (10th in baseball). They have recorded 142 two-baggers, while taking a walk 350 times and putting up 460 runs. Chicago has recorded 106 home runs so far this season to go along with 444 runs batted in. They have struck out on 882 occasions (6th in MLB) and have 814 base knocks. The Chicago Cubs have compiled a team OBP of .329 as well as a batting average of .250 over the course of the season.

The Chicago pitching staff have given up 427 runs for the year while holding an ERA of 4.14 (391 earned runs yielded). They have given up 104 homers and they allow 4.53 runs per 9 innings (16th in MLB). The Cubs are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.274 with a FIP of 4.21 as a pitching staff so far this year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 8.30 (783 strikeouts vs 298 free passes). They come in at 12th in MLB as a staff in total hits surrendered with 784.

Chicago bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 29.8% out of their 121 inherited base runners. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 69 times in high leverage situations and on 73 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 62 save situations, the Cubs have tallied 39 holds in addition to 9 blown saves. They rank 21st in baseball holding a save rate of 59.1%, and they have sent 290 relievers onto the diamond for the year. Chicago has had bullpen pitchers enter the game in 22 save opportunities and they have converted 13 saves.

In their 7,641 innings played, the Cubs are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 69.8% (10th in pro baseball). The Chicago Cubs have turned 86 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .986 (17th in the majors). The Cubs have accrued 878 assists, 50 errors and have 2,547 putouts so far this season.

Smyly (60-54 career mark) has a 4.14 earned run average while surrendering 8.7 hits per nine innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.08 and he has faced 4,401 opposing batters during his pro baseball career. He has given up a total of 480 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.276 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.3. So far in his MLB career, Smyly has surrendered 1,005 hits while he has totaled 1,008 strikeouts in 1,043 frames.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take St. Louis

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