Toronto Blue Jays vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 4/2/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Sunday, April 2, 2023

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

The Toronto Blue Jays (92-70 last year) are hitting the road to Busch Stadium on Sunday where they will take on the St. Louis Cardinals (93-69 last season). The starting pitchers are Chris Bassitt and Jordan Montgomery.

As a squad, the Toronto Blue Jays put up 4.8 runs per contest, which was 4th in baseball. They tallied 775 runs while having a team on-base percentage of .329. The Blue Jays tallied 307 two-baggers as a unit and hit 200 baseballs out of the park. They earned 756 runs batted in and 1,464 hits in the prior season, while their batting average was at .264. Toronto had a slugging % of .431 and were rung up 1,242 times, while being walked on 500 occasions.

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The Blue Jays compiled a team ERA of 3.87 last season (15th in baseball), and they struck out 1,390 batters. Their strikeout to walk ratio was at 3.28 and the pitching staff had a collective WHIP of 1.24. Blue Jays pitchers yielded 180 home runs in addition to 679 runs in total (13th in baseball). Their pitching staff walked 424 opposing players and their FIP came in at 3.85 as a team over the course of last year.

The Blue Jays relief pitchers earned a save rate of 63.0% and entered the game in 170 save situations. The relief pitchers inherited 246 base runners last season and 24.8% of them ended up scoring. Blue Jays bullpen pitchers entered the game with runners on 161 times and also had 182 outings in high leverage situations. The Blue Jays dispatched 585 relievers to the mound over the course of last season. The bullpen earned 94 holds over the course of last year (8th in the league). They earned 46 saves over the course of last year and blew 27 of their 73 save opportunities.

The Toronto Blue Jays notched a total of 4,324 putouts in the previous season, in addition to 1,348 assists and 82 errors. Their fielding rate was at .986 which ranked 11th in the majors, and accumulated 120 double plays. The Blue Jays turned 69.1% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 12,972 innings, which had them sitting at 20th in the majors.

Bassitt has taken the mound for 737 innings and has 671 strikeouts in his pro baseball career. Bassitt (46-34 career win-loss mark) is the owner of a FIP of 3.81 while he has faced 3,090 opposing batters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 3.45 (283 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.196. He has conceded 654 base hits (8.0 hits per nine innings) with 228 walks.

St. Louis accounted for 197 long balls last year and 739 RBIs. They hit 290 two-baggers, while taking a walk 537 times as well as racking up 772 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals compiled an OBP of .325 and a team batting average of .252 for the previous season. The Cardinals had a SLG% of .420 and they tallied 4.77 runs per outing (6th in MLB). They were called out on strikes on 1,226 occasions (26th in baseball) and accounted for 1,386 base hits.

The St. Louis pitching staff allowed 637 runs for the prior year while having an ERA of 3.79 (605 earned runs given up). They conceded 146 long balls and they relinquished 3.99 runs per 9 innings (9th in baseball). The Cardinals had a team WHIP of 1.271 with a FIP of 3.94 as a team over the course of last year. Their strikeout to walk ratio came in at 2.41 (1,177 strikeouts vs 489 free passes). They had a ranking of 16th in baseball as a staff in total hits allowed with 1,335.

St. Louis relief pitchers held an inherited score rate of 34.0% out of their 241 inherited runners. Their relief pitchers came in 133 times in high leverage situations and also on 158 occasions with base runners. Finishing with 121 save situations, the Cardinals had 67 holds and also 17 blown saves. They ranked 10th in baseball with a save rate of 68.5%, and they sent 466 relief pitchers onto the field last year. St. Louis had bullpen pitchers enter the game in 54 save opportunities and they earned 37 saves.

In their 12,921 innings played, the Cardinals accumulated a defensive efficiency of 70.2% (11th in baseball). St. Louis Cardinals twisted 181 double plays and earned a fielding percentage of .989 (1st in MLB). The Cardinals racked up 1,701 assists, 66 errors and notched a total of 4,307 putouts for the previous season.

In his pro baseball career, Montgomery has given up 529 base hits while he has earned 539 K's in 566 frames. Montgomery (28-23 record in his career) holds a 3.85 ERA and has conceded 8.4 hits per nine innings. He has given up a total of 242 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.215 and a FIP of 3.8. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.39 and he has gone up against 2,362 hitters so far in his career.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Toronto

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