St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 8/23/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

PNC Park is where the Pittsburgh Pirates (56-69) will take on the St. Louis Cardinals (55-71) on Wednesday. The pitchers expected to start will be Matthew Liberatore and Andre Jackson.

St. Louis is slugging .432 and have been called out on strikes 1,031 times, while being walked on 433 occasions. They have amassed 558 runs batted in as well as 1,109 base knocks this year, and their average at the plate is sitting at .257. The Cardinals have compiled 211 two-baggers as a unit and have knocked 173 baseballs out of the park. They are sitting with 577 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .331. As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals are notching 4.6 runs per outing, which has them at 14th in MLB.

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They have a K/BB ratio of 2.45 and the pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.44. Cardinals pitchers have given up 127 home runs and also 632 runs in total (25th in MLB). St. Louis has conceded 1,195 base hits (9.7 per 9 innings) and 574 earned runs. The Cardinals have a team earned run average of 4.65 on the season (24th in the league), and the staff has struck out 994 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 406 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 4.20 as a team this year.

The Cardinals have dispatched 370 relief pitchers to the hill on the year. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 218 runners this year and 30.7% of those runners earned a run for their team. They have recorded 27 saves on the year and have blown 25 of 52 save opportunities. The Cardinals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 51.9% and has come into the game in 118 save situations. The bullpen have recorded 65 holds over the course of the season (16th in MLB). Cardinals bullpen pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on 135 times and also have had 131 appearances in high leverage situations.

The St. Louis Cardinals have notched a total of 3,334 putouts thus far, in addition to 1,216 assists and 51 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .989 which is 2nd in MLB, and have accumulated 113 double plays. The Cardinals have transformed 66.6% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 10,002 innings on the diamond, ranking them 30th in professional baseball.

Liberatore has taken the hill for 84 innings and has earned 63 strikeouts in his career. His ERA is 6.06 (57 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.677. He has conceded 103 base hits (10.9 hits per nine innings) and has 39 walks. Liberatore (4-7 career record) sits with a FIP of 4.69 while he has faced 393 batters during his time in the major leagues.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have accounted for an on-base percentage of .314 in addition to a batting average of .235 for the year. They have been rung up on 1,115 occasions (9th in the league) and have totaled 975 hits. Pittsburgh has accumulated 123 HRs so far this year to go along with 501 RBIs. The Pirates have a team SLG% of .387 and they average 4.19 runs per game (24th in the league). They have tallied 217 two-baggers, while walking 444 times as well as notching 524 runs.

The Pirates hold a team WHIP of 1.397 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.38 as a team for the year. They come in at 23rd in the league as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 1,081. The Pittsburgh pitching staff have relinquished 608 runs on the campaign while having a team ERA of 4.56 (558 earned runs yielded). They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 8.80 (1,075 strikeouts against 456 free passes). They have conceded 139 long balls and they relinquish 4.97 runs per 9 innings (22nd in the league).

Pittsburgh has had bullpen pitchers enter the contest in 48 save opportunities and they have come away with 33 saves. They are ranked 7th in the league with a save rate of 68.8%, and they have dispatched 401 bullpen pitchers to the hill this year. Their relief pitchers have come in 127 times in high leverage situations in addition to 126 occasions with runners on. Pittsburgh bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 32.8% out of 189 inherited base runners. With 113 save situations, the Pirates have earned 62 holds and 15 blown saves.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten 107 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .983 (25th in pro baseball). The Pirates have recorded 1,033 assists, 74 errors and are sitting with 3,302 putouts this year. In 9,906 innings played, the Pirates have a defensive efficiency of 67.9% (25th in baseball).

So far in his career, Jackson has given up 50 hits while accumulating 53 strikeouts in 52 innings. He has conceded 23 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.308 and a FIP of 4.3. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.94 and he has gone up against 224 opposing batters so far in his career. Jackson (0-2 career win-loss mark) has earned a 3.98 ERA while giving up 8.7 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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