St. Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction, 3/31/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Date: Sunday, March 31, 2024

Location: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

The Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62 last season) will take on the St. Louis Cardinals (71-91 last year) at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. The pitchers taking the mound are Steven Matz and Gavin Stone.

As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals put up 4.4 runs/g, which had them sitting at 19th in baseball. They were sitting with 719 runs and held an on-base percentage of .326. The Cardinals tallied 264 two-baggers as a squad and hit 209 baseballs out of the stadium. They accumulated 697 runs batted in and 1,376 base knocks for the previous season, and their batting average was .250. St. Louis had a slugging percentage of .416 and were called out on strikes 1,326 times, while drawing a walk on 570 occasions.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio was 2.29 and their pitching staff had a team WHIP of 1.46. Cardinals pitchers relinquished 179 home runs and 829 total runs (25th in MLB). St. Louis conceded 1,549 base hits (9.8 per 9 innings) as well as 760 earned runs. The Cardinals compiled a team earned run average of 4.79 for the previous season (24th in MLB), and the staff rung up 1,215 hitters. Their pitching staff walked 530 players from the other team and their FIP came in at 4.43 as a team last year.

Cardinals relief pitchers entered the contest with runners on 173 times in addition to having 164 contests in high leverage situations. The bullpen notched 89 holds for the prior year (11th in the league). The Cardinals bullpen recorded a save rate of 56.3% and entered the game in 155 save situations. They accumulated 36 saves last year and did not convert 28 of 64 chances to get a save. The relievers inherited 274 base runners for the previous season with 32.5% of those players ended up scoring. The Cardinals had dispatched 484 relief pitchers to the mound during the previous year.

The St. Louis Cardinals earned a total of 4,285 putouts last year, in addition to 1,592 assists and 67 errors. Their fielding percentage was at .989 which put them in 3rd in MLB, and earned 154 double plays. The Cardinals transformed 67.0% of balls hit into play into outs out of 12,855 innings, which had them sitting 29th in MLB.

Matz (54-58 career record) has earned a FIP of 4.24 and he has faced 3,784 opposing batters in the majors. He has allowed 901 hits (9.2 hits per nine innings) with 265 walks. His ERA is 4.25 (417 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.320. Matz has taken the hill for 883 frames and is sitting with 848 K's in his MLB career.

The Dodgers had a team SLG% of .455 and they averaged 5.59 runs per game (2nd in baseball). They notched 303 doubles, while taking a walk 644 times as well as racking up 906 runs. Los Angeles recorded 249 home runs for the prior year to go along with 877 RBIs. They were rung up on 1,359 occasions (20th in the league) and earned a total of 1,422 hits. The Los Angeles Dodgers held a team on-base percentage of .340 as well as a team batting average of .257 for the previous season.

The Dodgers held a team WHIP of 1.202 and had a FIP of 4.23 as a unit over the course of last season. They had a K/BB ratio of 8.60 (1,388 strikeouts vs 454 free passes). They finished at 5th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 1,284. They conceded 200 long balls and they conceded 4.35 runs per 9 innings (10th in the league). The Los Angeles pitching staff allowed 699 runs in the previous season while having a team ERA of 4.06 (652 earned runs conceded).

With 150 save situations, the Dodgers earned 88 holds and 17 blown saves. Los Angeles called on bullpen pitchers to step onto the mound in 61 save opportunities and they earned 44 saves. Their relief pitchers took the field 157 times in high leverage situations and on 135 occasions with runners on base. Los Angeles bullpen pitchers had an inherited score percentage of 26.1% out of 203 inherited base runners. They ranked 3rd in MLB holding a save rate of 72.1%, and they dispatched 551 relief pitchers to the hill last year.

The Los Angeles Dodgers turned 139 double plays and notched a fielding percentage of .987 (10th in professional baseball). The Dodgers recorded 1,406 assists, 76 errors and accumulated 4,339 putouts during the previous year. In 13,017 innings on the diamond, the Dodgers earned a defensive efficiency of 70.9% (2nd in pro baseball).

So far in his career, Stone has surrendered 46 base knocks while earning 22 strikeouts in 31 frames. He has allowed 31 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.903 and being the owner of a FIP of 6.6. His K/BB ratio is 1.69 and he has faced 152 batters during his pro baseball career. Stone (1-1 career record) holds a 9.00 ERA and has surrendered 13.4 hits per 9 innings.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take St. Louis

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