Toronto Blue Jays vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 4/1/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Saturday, April 1, 2023

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Toronto (-115) St. Louis (-105)

The St. Louis Cardinals (93-69 last season) will go up against the Toronto Blue Jays (92-70 last year) at Busch Stadium on Saturday. The moneyline on this contest has Toronto at -115 while St. Louis is priced at -105. The total is 7.5. The starting pitchers will be Kevin Gausman and Jack Flaherty.

The Blue Jays tallied 307 doubles as a team and hit 200 baseballs out of the park. Toronto had a slugging percentage of .431 and struck out 1,242 times, while taking a walk on 500 occasions. As a team, the Toronto Blue Jays recorded 4.8 runs/g, which had them sitting at 4th in baseball. They tallied 756 runs batted in and 1,464 hits over the course of last year, while their batting average came in at .264. They notched a total of 775 runs scored while having a team on-base percentage of .329.

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Blue Jays pitchers conceded 180 long balls and also 679 total runs (13th in the league). They walked 424 hitters and their FIP was 3.85 as a team during the previous year. They had a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.28 and their pitching staff held a WHIP of 1.24. The Blue Jays had a team ERA of 3.87 over the course of last season (15th in MLB), and the staff rung up 1,390 batters.

The Blue Jays dispatched 585 relievers to the hill over the course of last season. The relievers inherited 246 base runners for the previous season and 24.8% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. They recorded 46 saves over the course of the prior season and blew 27 out of their 73 save chances. The Blue Jays bullpen accumulated a save rate of 63.0% and stepped onto the mound in 170 save situations. The relievers recorded 94 holds for the previous season (8th in the league). Blue Jays pitchers came into the game with runners on 161 times in addition to having 182 contests in high leverage situations.

The Blue Jays converted 69.1% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 12,972 innings, which had them sitting 20th in MLB. The Toronto Blue Jays earned a total of 4,324 putouts during the previous year, in addition to 1,348 assists and 82 errors. Their fielding percentage was at .986 which had them ranked 11th in professional baseball, and they turned 120 double plays.

Gausman (76-82 career record) sits with a FIP of 3.69 and he has faced 5,692 hitters in the majors. He has allowed 1,352 base knocks (9.0 hits per 9 innings) with 374 free passes. His earned run average is 3.93 (591 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.277. Gausman has taken the mound for 1,352 innings and is sitting with 1,366 strikeouts during his MLB career.

St. Louis knocked in 197 home runs during the previous year in addition to 739 RBIs. They recorded 290 doubles, while walking 537 times and putting up 772 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals accumulated an on-base percentage of .325 as well as a batting average of .252 for the previous season. The Cardinals had a team SLG% of .420 and they were earning 4.77 runs per contest (6th in the league). They were called out on strikes on 1,226 occasions (26th in baseball) and were sitting with 1,386 base hits.

The Cardinals had a WHIP of 1.271 in addition to having a FIP of 3.94 as a unit last year. Their strikeout to walk ratio came in at 2.41 (1,177 strikeouts against 489 bases on balls). They finished at 16th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 1,335. They conceded 146 long balls and they conceded 3.99 runs per 9 innings (9th in MLB). The St. Louis pitching staff surrendered 637 runs in the previous season while holding an ERA of 3.79 (605 earned runs surrendered).

Finishing with 121 save situations, the Cardinals amassed 67 holds in addition to 17 blown saves. St. Louis had bullpen pitchers step onto the mound in 54 save chances and they came away with 37 saves. Their bullpen pitchers stepped onto the mound 133 times in high leverage situations and on 158 occasions with runners on. St. Louis bullpen pitchers had an inherited score rate of 34.0% of 241 inherited runners. They ranked 10th in MLB with a save rate of 68.5%, and they dispatched 466 relief pitchers to the mound last year.

In 12,921 innings on the diamond, the Cardinals earned a defensive efficiency of 70.2% (11th in baseball). St. Louis Cardinals twisted 181 double plays and had a fielding percentage of .989 (1st in baseball). The Cardinals racked up 1,701 assists, 66 errors and are sitting with 4,307 putouts over the course of last year.

So far in his MLB career, Flaherty has conceded 392 base hits while accumulating 600 K's in 523 frames. Flaherty (34-25 career mark) has earned a 3.41 ERA while giving up 6.7 hits per 9 innings. He has conceded 198 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.108 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.9. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.19 and he has gone up against 2,140 hitters so far in his career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Louis (-105)

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