Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 7/28/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Sunday, July 28, 2024

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

The Washington Nationals (47-56) are hitting the road to Busch Stadium on Sunday where they will attempt to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals (53-49). The pitchers taking the mound are DJ Herz and Miles Mikolas.

As a unit, the Washington Nationals are scoring 4.1 runs per contest, which ranks them 22nd in baseball. They have tallied 423 runs while having a team on-base percentage of .305. The Nationals have tallied 165 doubles as a squad and have knocked 85 balls out of the stadium. They have earned 397 RBI's as well as 804 hits over the course of the season, and their batting average is at .237. Washington has a slugging rate of .367 and have struck out 786 times, while drawing a walk on 293 occasions.

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The Nationals are sitting with a team ERA of 4.19 for the year (22nd in baseball), and their staff has struck out 843 batters. Nationals pitchers have conceded 102 long balls and 470 runs (21st in MLB). They have walked 295 hitters and their FIP sits at 3.80 as a unit so far this year. Washington has conceded 891 base hits (8.8 per 9 innings) as well as 425 earned runs. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.86 and the pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.30.

The Nationals have sent 354 relievers to the hill over the course of the season. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 129 base runners for the season with 38.0% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. They have recorded 29 saves on the campaign and have missed out on 14 out of their 43 save opportunities. The Nationals relievers have recorded a save percentage of 67.4% and has come into the game in 103 save situations. The relief pitchers are sitting with 60 holds so far this season (11th in baseball). Nationals relief pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on base 91 times in addition to having 91 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Nationals have turned 68.1% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 8,211 innings, which has them sitting at 27th in MLB. The Washington Nationals have earned 2,737 putouts over the course of the season, in addition to 904 assists and 59 errors. Their fielding rate is at .984 which has them ranked 23rd in the majors, and have accumulated 93 double plays.

Herz has thrown 36 frames and has accounted for 45 strikeouts so far in his career. Herz (1-4 mark in his career) has earned a FIP of 4.91 and he has gone up against 162 opposing hitters in the majors. His ERA is 4.99 (20 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.413. He has conceded 40 base knocks (10.0 hits per nine innings) with 11 walks.

The St. Louis Cardinals have recorded an OBP of .309 in addition to a batting average of .245 this year. They have been rung up on 858 occasions (16th in the league) and have tallied 848 base hits. St. Louis has hit 103 home runs on the campaign and 393 RBIs. The Cardinals hold a team SLG% of .385 and they are recording 4.10 runs per game (23rd in the league). They have hit 152 doubles, while getting a free base 297 times and putting up 418 runs.

The Cardinals hold a team WHIP of 1.259 and have a FIP of 3.94 as a unit for the season. They are currently ranked 21st in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits given up with 862. The St. Louis pitching staff have surrendered 454 runs so far this season while having an ERA of 3.96 (400 earned runs relinquished). Their strikeout to walk ratio is 8.10 (823 strikeouts vs 284 walks). They have given up 111 home runs and they relinquish 4.49 runs per 9 innings (19th in the league).

Sitting with 130 save situations, the Cardinals have compiled 78 holds in addition to 15 blown saves. St. Louis has had relievers enter the game in 52 save opportunities and they have converted 37 saves. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 117 times in high leverage situations and on 103 occasions with base runners. St. Louis relief pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 36.1% out of 144 inherited runners. They rank 5th in baseball with a save percentage of 71.2%, and they have sent 322 relief pitchers onto the diamond so far this year.

The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 105 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .988 (5th in pro baseball). The Cardinals have recorded 951 assists, 46 errors and have a total of 2,730 putouts during this campaign. Out of their 8,190 innings played, the Cardinals have accumulated a efficiency on defense of 69.5% (19th in pro baseball).

Mikolas (62-61 career win-loss mark) has a 4.06 ERA while giving up 9.0 hits per 9 innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.71 and he has gone up against 4,316 hitters so far in his career. He has allowed 470 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.193 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.0. So far in his pro baseball career, Mikolas has surrendered 1,040 hits while tallying 753 punch outs in 1,042 frames.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take St. Louis

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