The Pittsburgh Pirates (62-71, 5th NL Central) play game two of a three-game interleague series on the road against the Cleveland Guardians (76-58, 1st AL Central). The Pirates have struggled of late, being swept in a three-game series by the Chicago Cubs earlier this week and have lost four of the last five. The Pirates are 15 games behind front-running Milwaukee in the National League Central and 10 ½ games behind the third and final NL wildcard spot. Cleveland defeated Kansas City 7-5 on Thursday to avoid being swept after losing the first three games of the series. Cleveland has lost six of the last nine. Pittsburgh will play without seven pitchers as well as position players Ke’Bryan Hayes, Andrew McCutchen, Rowdy Tellez, Joey Bart and Endy Rodriguez. Cleveland will play without seven pitchers.
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Pittsburgh is poor at the plate but slightly better on the mound
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 22nd in runs scored (560), 23rd in batting average (.236) and 25th in both on-base percentage (.303) and slugging percentage (.375). The Pittsburgh Pirates are led in home runs by Bryan Reynolds with 21 and Reynolds is also the leader in RBI with 74 and hits with 146. Oneil Cruz is second in both home runs and RBI with 18 and 65 respectively. Pittsburgh has 10 players with between 23 and 74 RBI. Pittsburgh has hit 197 doubles, 16 triples and 132 home runs for 345 extra base hits in 133 games
Pittsburgh is 5th in Quality Starts (57), 15th and in ERA (4.11) 22nd in WHIP (1.30) and 25th in batting average allowed (.250). Mitch Keller is the leader in victories for Pittsburgh with 11 and the right-hander is also the leader in strikeouts with 138 and ERA for starting pitchers at 3.84.Pittsburgh will hand the ball to Luis Ortiz on Saturday. This season the right-hander is 5-4 with an ERA of 3.36 and 83 strikeouts.
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Cleveland is only average at the plate but has better numbers on the mound
Cleveland is 13th in runs scored (608), 18th in on-base percentage (.309), 13th in both slugging percentage (.393 and batting average (.237). Jose Ramirez leads Cleveland in home runs with 33 and the third baseman also has a team-best 104 RBI. Josh Naylor is second in both home runs and RBI with 28 and 94 respectively Cleveland has 11 players with between 21 and 104 RBI. Cleveland has hit 203 doubles, 16 triples and 152 home runs for 371 extra base hits in 134 games.
Cleveland is 5th in batting average allowed (.234), 8th in WHIP (1.23), 10th in ERA (3.84, and 29th in Quality Starts (34). Ben Lively is the leader in wins with 11, while Tanner Bibee is the leader in strikeouts with 156 and ERA for starting pitchers at 3.65. Matthew Boyd will start on the mound for Cleveland on Saturday. This season the left-hander is 1-0 with an ERA of 2.70 and 12 strikeouts.
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Best Bets for Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cleveland Guardians
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Rating:
Pittsburgh has lost four of the last five overall, nine of the last 10 played on the road and 12 of the last 18 played on the road against Cleveland. Cleveland is leading the American League Central and has far more incentive to win this game since the Pirates are over 10 games behind the third and final NL wild card spot. Cleveland has the 10th best ERA (3.84) while Pittsburgh is 15th (4.11) At the plate, Cleveland is 13th in runs scored (608), while Pittsburgh is 22nd (560). Pittsburgh starting pitcher Luis Ortiz has been hit hard in four of the last five outings, allowing a total of 16 runs and 22 hits, including eight home runs with Pittsburgh losing four of the five. Cleveland starting pitcher Matthew Boyd has made just three appearances this season, allowing five runs and 10 hits in 16.2 anyway with Cleveland winning each of the three games.
Prediction: Cleveland Guardians -1.5
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
Rating:
Cleveland starter Matthew Boyd has a 2.70 ERA and Pittsburgh starter Luis Ortiz as a 3.16 ERA. As a team, Pittsburgh is 15th in ERA and Cleveland is 10th. The over/under has been nearly equal for both teams this season at .500.
Prediction: UNDER
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Kevin Vallego , "Kevin V."
Kevin grew up in a sports-only household. Every afternoon was set to watching any sport that was on T.V. After years of watching sports he got introduced to the betting world, and soon stats, trends, and odds were Kevin's best friends. Now, almost 2 decades later, His life revolves around sports, writing about them, and betting on them. We are glad to have Kevin on our Winners & Whiners & StatSalt teams and you should be happy that we have him as well.
