St. Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction, 3/29/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Date: Friday, March 29, 2024

Location: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum SportsNet LA

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (+165) Los Angeles (-200)

Dodger Stadium is the location where the Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62 last season) will take on the St. Louis Cardinals (71-91 last year) on Friday. The moneyline on this game has the Cardinals at +165 and the Dodgers are coming in at -200. The betting total comes in at 8.5. The starting pitchers are Zach Thompson and Bobby Miller.

The Cardinals compiled 264 two-baggers as a unit and hit 209 balls out of the park. St. Louis had a slugging percentage of .416 and struck out 1,326 times, while drawing a walk on 570 occasions. As a squad, the St. Louis Cardinals scored 4.4 runs per contest, which had them at 19th in the league. They amassed 697 runs batted in and 1,376 base knocks in the previous season, while their team batting average finished at .250. They earned 719 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .326.

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The Cardinals held a team earned run average of 4.79 during the previous year (24th in MLB), and the staff rung up 1,215 batters. Cardinals pitchers surrendered 179 home runs and 829 total runs (25th in MLB). Their pitching staff walked 530 opposing batters and their FIP came in at 4.43 as a team over the course of the prior season. St. Louis conceded 1,549 hits (9.8 per 9 innings) and 760 earned runs. They accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.29 and the pitching staff had a team WHIP of 1.46.

The Cardinals had dispatched 484 relief pitchers to the hill for the previous season. The relief pitchers inherited 274 base runners over the course of the prior season and 32.5% of them earned a run for their team. They compiled 36 saves for the previous season and did not convert 28 of 64 chances to get a save. The Cardinals bullpen compiled a save rate of 56.3% and stepped onto the hill in 155 save situations. The bullpen accumulated 89 holds in the previous season (11th in baseball). Cardinals bullpen pitchers entered the contest with runners on 173 times in addition to having 164 games in high leverage situations.

The St. Louis Cardinals accounted for 4,285 putouts over the course of the prior season, in addition to 1,592 assists and 67 errors. Their fielding percentage was at .989 which ranked 3rd in pro baseball, and they turned 154 double plays. The Cardinals converted 67.0% of balls in play into outs out of their 12,855 innings on the diamond, which had them ranked 29th in the majors.

Thompson has taken the mound for 196 innings and has accounted for 156 strikeouts so far in his MLB career. His ERA is 4.44 (97 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.398. He has surrendered 201 base hits (9.2 hits per 9 innings) and has 74 walks. Thompson (6-17 career mark) is the owner of a FIP of 4.42 while going up against 858 opposing hitters in the majors.

The Los Angeles Dodgers accounted for a team OBP of .340 as well as a batting average of .257 in the prior season. They struck out on 1,359 occasions (20th in the league) and totaled 1,422 base hits. Los Angeles accounted for 249 long balls over the course of last season and 877 runs batted in. The Dodgers had a slugging percentage of .455 and they were recording 5.59 runs per contest (2nd in the league). They recorded 303 doubles, while getting a free base 644 times as well as putting up 906 runs.

The Dodgers had a WHIP of 1.202 with a FIP of 4.23 as a unit over the course of last season. Their strikeout to walk ratio was 8.60 (1,388 strikeouts against 454 walks). They finished at 5th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 1,284. They yielded 200 dingers and they surrender 4.35 runs per 9 innings (10th in the league). The Los Angeles pitching staff surrendered 699 runs for the prior year while having an ERA of 4.06 (652 earned runs allowed).

Los Angeles called on relief pitchers to enter the game in 61 save opportunities and they came away with 44 saves. They were sitting at 3rd in MLB with a save percentage of 72.1%, and they dispatched 551 relievers to the mound last year. Their relief pitchers took the field 157 times in high leverage situations in addition to 135 occasions with base runners. Los Angeles bullpen pitchers held an inherited score percentage of 26.1% of 203 inherited runners. Wrapping up the year with 150 save situations, the Dodgers compiled 88 holds and also 17 blown saves.

The Los Angeles Dodgers turned 139 double plays and owned a fielding percentage of .987 (10th in the majors). The Dodgers accrued 1,406 assists, 76 errors and had a total of 4,339 putouts over the course of last year. In 13,017 innings on the diamond, the Dodgers had a defensive efficiency of 70.9% (2nd in MLB).

In his pro baseball career, Miller has given up 105 hits while earning 119 strikeouts in 124 innings. Miller (11-4 career mark) has a 3.76 ERA while allowing 7.6 hits per nine innings. He has surrendered 52 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.102 and having a FIP of 3.5. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.72 and he has gone up against 505 opposing hitters in his pro baseball career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-200)

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