Pirates vs. Tigers Pick
Will the home team win all four games in the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers series as the two conclude things today in Detroit at 1:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Pirates are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -150 to win, while the Tigers are listed with a money line of +135 to win. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 9.5 runs.
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The pitching matchup this afternoon has Gerrit Cole (9-8, 4.00 ERA) on the mound for the Pirates to face Drew VerHagen (0-1, 5.00) of the Pirates. VerHagen has pitched a total of 9 innings this season and allowed five earned runs with four strikeouts and two walks. His WHIP is just 1.11. Cole has been able to get through at least six innings in his last six starts, allowing 11 runs total in those six starts. He has 125 strikeouts this season with 35 walks and a 1.27 WHIP.
The home team has dominated this home-and-home series. Pittsburgh took the first two games at home before Detroit bounced back on Wednesday when the series moved to the Motor City, 10-0. The Tigers are now 52-61 overall and 28-25 at home while the Pirates are 56-58 overall and 24-32 on the road.
Justin Verlander was in his best form on Wednesday, pitching eight innings of 1-hit ball to get his eighth win of the season and bring his ERA under 4.00 for the first time since early April. Ivan Nova allowed six runs in 6.1 innings for the Pirates to fall to 10-9 on the season. Nicholas Castellanos had three hits and drove in five runs to lead the Tigers while Ian Kinsler had three hits and drove in four runs.
Detroit certainly looked good on Wednesday, but that was due in part to a great pitching performances. The Tigers aren’t likely to get that again today from VerHagen. His outing won’t likely last long, even if it is good. That puts the bullpen in focus for the Tigers and they have been a mess all season. Cole has proven he can get deep into games and just has steady numbers in the last month. He should be able to get the road team a win today.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: PITTSBURGH PIRATES -150