St. Louis Cardinals vs San Diego Padres Prediction, 9/22/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs San Diego Padres

Date: Friday, September 22, 2023

Location: Petco Park in San Diego, CA

TV: Bally Sports San Diego

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (+114) San Diego (-135)

The St. Louis Cardinals (67-85) are headed to Petco Park on Friday where they will take on the San Diego Padres (75-78). The line on this contest has St. Louis at +114 and San Diego is sitting at -135. The betting total is set at 9.5. The pitchers taking the mound will be Dakota Hudson and Matt Waldron.

St. Louis has a slugging % of .421 and have been rung up 1,245 times, while drawing a walk on 529 occasions. They have tallied 662 runs batted in and 1,303 hits so far this season, while their average at the plate is sitting at .251. The Cardinals have accounted for 244 doubles as a squad and have hit 204 balls out of the stadium. They have accumulated 683 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .327. As a squad, the St. Louis Cardinals are scoring 4.5 runs/g, which puts them at 17th in the league.

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The Cardinals have an earned run average of 4.76 on the year (25th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 1,145 batters. Cardinals pitchers have relinquished 164 home runs and 770 total runs (24th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 499 players from the other team and their FIP comes in at 4.39 as a team this year. St. Louis has conceded 1,444 base hits (9.7 per 9 innings) as well as 709 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.29 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.45.

Cardinals bullpen pitchers have entered the contest with runners on base 162 times in addition to having 156 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers have earned 85 holds this year (12th in baseball). The Cardinals relief pitchers have a save rate of 55.7% and has stepped onto the mound in 148 save situations. They have accumulated 34 saves on the campaign and have not converted 27 out of their 61 save opportunities. The relief pitchers have inherited 258 base runners so far this season and 31.8% of them ended up scoring. The Cardinals have sent 454 relief pitchers to the hill for the season.

The Cardinals have turned 67.1% of baseballs in play into outs out of 12,063 innings on the diamond, ranking them 29th in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals are sitting with 4,021 putouts this season, as well as 1,495 assists and 59 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .989 which ranks 3rd in MLB, and have a total of 139 double plays.

Hudson has taken the ball for 459 frames and is sitting with 310 K's during his MLB career. Hudson (38-19 career win-loss mark) holds a FIP of 4.63 and he has faced 1,963 opposing batters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 3.84 (196 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.379. He has given up 423 base knocks (8.3 hits per nine innings) and has had 211 free passes.

The San Diego Padres have compiled an OBP of .328 and a team batting average of .242 for the year. They have struck out on 1,239 instances (22nd in MLB) and have 1,230 base hits. San Diego has recorded 198 home runs on the campaign to go along with 681 RBIs. The Padres hold a team SLG% of .414 and they average 4.66 runs per contest (14th in the league). They have recorded 256 doubles, while getting a free base 616 times and scoring 713 runs.

The Padres are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.280 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.18 as a team for the year. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 9.00 (1,360 strikeouts vs 522 bases on balls). They rank 5th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 1,214. They have given up 168 long balls and they allow 4.19 runs per 9 innings (6th in the league). The San Diego pitching staff have conceded 631 runs for the year and come in with a team ERA of 3.87 (583 earned runs given up).

San Diego has called on relievers to step onto the hill in 58 save opportunities and they have earned 33 saves. They rank 23rd in baseball holding a save percentage of 56.9%, and they have sent 477 bullpen pitchers to the mound so far this year. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill 138 times in high leverage situations and also on 104 occasions with runners on base. San Diego bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 42.2% out of 161 inherited base runners. Sitting with 136 save situations, the Padres have tallied 77 holds and also 25 blown saves.

Out of their 12,204 innings played, the Padres have earned a defensive efficiency of 69.8% (9th in baseball). The San Diego Padres have gotten 124 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .987 (7th in pro baseball). The Padres have racked up 1,353 assists, 71 errors and have amassed 4,068 putouts on the season.

Waldron (1-3 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a 5.16 ERA and has allowed 9.4 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.50 and he has gone up against 127 hitters thus far in his career. He has given up 17 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.315 and being the owner of a FIP of 5.8. During his career, Waldron has surrendered 31 base knocks while he has accumulated 20 K's in 29 innings pitched.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take San Diego (-135)

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