Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 5/24/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Friday, May 24, 2024

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

The Chicago Cubs (27-23) are hitting the road to Busch Stadium on Friday where they will attempt to beat the St. Louis Cardinals (23-26). The pitchers who are expected to start will be Shota Imanaga and Miles Mikolas.

Chicago has a slugging percentage of .372 and have struck out 438 times, while being walked on 182 occasions. They have earned 202 RBI's in addition to 374 base knocks for the year, while their batting average comes in at .227. The Cubs have earned 72 doubles as a unit and have knocked 48 baseballs out of the park. They have earned 218 runs scored while having a team on-base percentage of .311. As a unit, the Chicago Cubs are scoring 4.4 runs per contest, which has them sitting at 16th in MLB.

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They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.68 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.29. Cubs pitchers have conceded 46 home runs and 204 total runs (14th in the league). Chicago has allowed 394 hits (8.3 per 9 innings) in addition to 175 earned runs. The Cubs are sitting with a team earned run average of 3.69 this year (11th in MLB), and the staff has rung up 418 batters. They have walked 156 players from the other team and their FIP is 3.81 as a unit so far this year.

The Cubs relief pitchers have accumulated a save percentage of 57.1% and has come into the game in 45 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 77 runners this season and 35.1% of them ended up scoring. Cubs relief pitchers have entered the contest with runners on 54 times and also have had 65 appearances in high leverage situations. The Cubs have dispatched 158 relievers to the hill for the season. The relief pitchers have racked up 23 holds over the course of the season (23rd in the league). They have accumulated 12 saves on the campaign and have blown 9 out of their 21 chances to save the game.

The Cubs have turned 69.4% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 4,011 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting 21st in professional baseball. The Chicago Cubs have a total of 1,337 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 415 assists and 32 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .982 which has them ranked 26th in the majors, and have a total of 27 double plays.

Imanaga has thrown 53 innings and has totaled 58 strikeouts so far in his MLB career. Imanaga (5-0 record in his career) has earned a FIP of 2.20 while he has gone up against 209 batters during his time in the majors. His ERA is 0.84 (5 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 0.913. He has allowed 40 hits (6.7 hits per nine innings) and has 9 free passes.

The Cardinals hold a team SLG% of .361 and they score 3.86 runs per contest (24th in baseball). They have 78 doubles, while taking a walk 168 times as well as notching 189 runs. St. Louis has accumulated 41 HRs this year to go along with 176 runs batted in. They have been called out on strikes on 418 occasions (15th in MLB) and have 377 base hits. The St. Louis Cardinals are sitting with an on-base percentage of .308 in addition to a batting average of .231 for the season.

The St. Louis pitching staff have yielded 227 runs so far this year while having an ERA of 4.42 (204 earned runs allowed). They have relinquished 57 long balls and they concede 4.92 runs per 9 innings (25th in MLB). The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.327 with a FIP of 4.14 as a unit on the campaign. Their K/BB ratio sits at 8.40 (389 strikeouts against 137 walks). They have a ranking of 25th in the league as a staff in total hits relinquished with 414.

St. Louis has had relievers step onto the mound in 22 save chances and they have earned 17 saves. They sit at 2nd in the league with a save percentage of 77.3%, and they have dispatched 155 bullpen pitchers onto the field this year. Their relief pitchers have come in 48 times in high leverage situations in addition to 48 occasions with runners on base. St. Louis bullpen pitchers have an inherited score rate of 42.4% out of their 66 inherited runners. With 61 save situations, the Cardinals have accrued 39 holds in addition to 5 blown saves.

In 3,903 innings on the diamond, the Cardinals hold a efficiency on defense of 68.5% (25th in MLB). The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten 51 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .986 (9th in the majors). The Cardinals have recorded 451 assists, 24 errors and have earned 1,301 putouts on the campaign.

Mikolas (57-58 career mark) has earned a 4.03 earned run average while giving up 9.0 hits per 9 innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.65 and he has gone up against 4,059 opposing hitters during his pro baseball career. He has given up a total of 438 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.199 and a FIP of 4.1. In his career, Mikolas has surrendered 977 base hits while earning 712 strikeouts in 977 innings pitched.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take St. Louis

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