St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 6/2/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Friday, June 2, 2023

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (-155) Pittsburgh (+135)

The St. Louis Cardinals (25-32) are on their way to PNC Park on Friday where they will attempt to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates (28-27). The moneyline on this game has the Cardinals at -155 while the Pirates are priced at +135. The over/under has been set at 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound are Jack Flaherty and Roansy Contreras.

As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals are putting up 4.8 runs per game, which has them sitting at 9th in the league. They have racked up 273 runs while holding a team OBP of .327. The Cardinals have recorded 100 doubles as a team and have hit 76 baseballs out of the park. They have earned 263 RBI's and 493 base knocks over the course of the season, while their batting average is .253. St. Louis is slugging .426 and have been called out on strikes 466 times, while drawing a walk on 203 occasions.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.45 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.44. Cardinals pitchers have given up 58 long balls and 266 total runs (21st in MLB). St. Louis has surrendered 526 hits (9.4 per 9 innings) and also 241 earned runs. The Cardinals have compiled a team earned run average of 4.31 so far this season (19th in baseball), and the staff has struck out 487 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 199 players from the other team and their FIP comes in at 4.17 as a team for the year.

Cardinals pitchers have entered the game with players on base 68 times as well as having 64 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers have 27 holds on the season (25th in baseball). The Cardinals bullpen have earned a save percentage of 52.0% and has entered the game in 52 save situations. They have 13 saves on the season and have blown 12 of their 25 chances to get a save. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 112 base runners this year and 27.7% of those players earned a run for their team. The Cardinals have dispatched 173 relief pitchers to the mound on the campaign.

The Cardinals have transformed 66.4% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 4,533 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting at 29th in professional baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals have a total of 1,511 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 537 assists and 23 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .989 which has them ranked 7th in pro baseball, and have accumulated 53 double plays.

Flaherty has taken the mound for 581 innings and has earned 658 punch outs during his MLB career. His earned run average is 3.55 (229 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.151. He has conceded 447 base hits (6.9 hits per 9 innings) and has 222 walks. Flaherty (37-29 career mark) sits with a FIP of 3.99 while he has gone up against 2,392 hitters in the majors.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have accumulated an OBP of .322 and a batting average of .245 over the course of the season. They have been rung up on 467 occasions (21st in the league) and have a total of 447 hits. Pittsburgh has accumulated 53 long balls for the year as well as 229 runs batted in. The Pirates have a team SLG% of .406 and they have an average of 4.38 runs per game (20th in MLB). They have put up 105 two-baggers, while taking a walk 196 times and putting up 241 runs.

The Pirates have a team WHIP of 1.330 in addition to having a FIP of 3.94 as a staff so far this season. They are sitting at 13th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits given up with 457. The Pittsburgh pitching staff have given up 235 runs so far this year and come in with a team ERA of 3.99 (215 earned runs given up). They have earned a K/BB ratio of 8.90 (479 strikeouts vs 188 bases on balls). They have given up 52 homers and they allow 4.36 runs per 9 innings (10th in baseball).

Sitting with 48 save situations, the Pirates have accrued 27 holds in addition to 6 blown saves. Pittsburgh has called on relief pitchers to step onto the mound in 20 save opportunities and they have earned 14 saves. Their relievers have taken the field 44 times in high leverage situations and on 41 occasions with runners on. Pittsburgh relievers hold an inherited score rate of 20.7% out of their 58 inherited base runners. They are ranked 10th in the league holding a save percentage of 70.0%, and they have sent 163 bullpen pitchers to the hill on the campaign.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 47 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .981 (29th in professional baseball). The Pirates have 437 assists, 37 errors and have 1,456 putouts on the campaign. In 4,368 innings played, the Pirates are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 68.2% (20th in professional baseball).

In his career, Contreras has conceded 134 hits while he has tallied 126 strikeouts in 150 innings pitched. Contreras (8-9 record in his career) has a 3.90 earned run average while giving up 8.0 hits per 9 innings. He has conceded a total of 65 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.313 and a FIP of 4.4. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.00 and he has gone up against 640 opposing hitters in his career.

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

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+135) and under 8.5 runs

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