St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 7/21/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Friday, July 21, 2023

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Marquee

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (+100) Chicago (-120)

The St. Louis Cardinals (43-53) are on their way to Wrigley Field on Friday where they will attempt to beat the Chicago Cubs (45-50). The line on this contest has the Cardinals at +100 while the Cubs open at -120. The betting total comes in at 9. The starting pitchers are Jack Flaherty and Justin Steele.

St. Louis is slugging .431 and have struck out 806 times, while being walked on 328 occasions. They have earned 439 RBI's as well as 843 hits on the year, while their batting average is .257. The Cardinals have recorded 161 doubles as a squad and have knocked 131 baseballs out of the park. They have earned a total of 454 runs while having a team OBP of .331. As a team, the St. Louis Cardinals are recording 4.7 runs per game, which has them sitting at 11th in MLB.

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They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.37 and their pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.45. Cardinals pitchers have yielded 93 home runs in addition to 475 runs in total (24th in the league). St. Louis has given up 906 base hits (9.6 per 9 innings) in addition to 426 earned runs. The Cardinals have compiled a team ERA of 4.52 for the season (24th in the league), and the staff has struck out 774 batters. They have walked 326 opposing hitters and their FIP sits at 4.18 as a team so far this year.

Cardinals bullpen pitchers have entered the contest with runners on base 111 times in addition to having 115 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 50 holds this season (17th in the league). The Cardinals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 53.3% and has come into the game in 95 save situations. They have compiled 24 saves on the year and have blown 21 out of their 45 save opportunities. The relief pitchers have inherited 182 runners so far this season and 29.7% of them crossed home plate. The Cardinals have sent 294 relievers to the mound so far this season.

The Cardinals have turned 66.4% of balls hit into play into outs out of 7,635 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting 30th in MLB. The St. Louis Cardinals have amassed 2,545 putouts this season, as well as 911 assists and 41 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .988 which puts them in 4th in baseball, and have 88 double plays.

Flaherty has taken the mound for 622 innings and has earned 696 punch outs during his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.55 (245 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.175. He has given up 492 base hits (7.1 hits per nine innings) and has had 239 walks. Flaherty (41-30 career win-loss mark) sits with a FIP of 3.94 and he has faced 2,573 batters in the majors.

The Cubs hold a slugging percentage of .403 and they score 4.82 runs per contest (10th in the league). They have notched 140 two-baggers, while taking a walk 346 times as well as scoring 458 runs. Chicago has 106 home runs so far this year as well as 442 runs batted in. They have been rung up on 874 occasions (7th in MLB) and have totaled 808 hits. The Chicago Cubs have accumulated a team OBP of .329 as well as a team batting average of .251 on the season.

The Cubs have a team WHIP of 1.268 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.19 as a unit this year. They sit at 11th in baseball as a staff in total hits given up with 774. The Chicago pitching staff have conceded 420 runs for the season while having a team ERA of 4.13 (385 earned runs surrendered). Their K/BB ratio comes in at 8.30 (775 strikeouts vs 291 walks). They have surrendered 102 homers and they surrender 4.50 runs per 9 innings (15th in MLB).

Chicago has called on relievers to enter the game in 22 save chances and they have tallied 13 saves. They rank 20th in MLB holding a save percentage of 59.1%, and they have dispatched 288 relievers to the hill this year. Their relief pitchers have come in 69 times in high leverage situations and also on 72 occasions with base runners. Chicago relief pitchers have an inherited score rate of 30.3% out of 119 inherited runners. Sitting with 62 save situations, the Cubs have earned 39 holds and 9 blown saves.

Out of their 7,560 innings played, the Cubs have a defensive efficiency of 69.9% (10th in the majors). The Chicago Cubs have gotten 82 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .986 (16th in baseball). The Cubs have recorded 867 assists, 48 errors and are sitting with 2,520 putouts so far this season.

Steele (17-14 career record) has a 3.33 earned run average and has allowed 8.2 hits per 9 innings. His K/BB ratio is 2.80 and he has faced 1,156 batters in his career. He has given up a total of 101 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.266 and having a FIP of 3.6. So far in his pro baseball career, Steele has allowed 249 base knocks while he has tallied 272 strikeouts in 273 innings.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take St. Louis (+100)

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