Cervelli-less Pirates try to rebound vs. Halos
With a key contributor on the shelf, can the Pirates bounce back in today’s middle contest vs. the Angels?
According to oddsmakers, that’s a pretty safe bet. Online sports book Bovada.lv lists the hosts as 1.5-run favorites for this afternoon’s 4:05 p.m. ET tilt. Los Angeles, conversely, enters as a -101 underdog. The over/under run figure holds steady at 8.5.
Francisco Liriano suffered a rare PNC Park misstep last night, getting shelled in Pittsburgh’s 9-2 loss. He didn’t have the luxury of throwing to regular batterymate Francisco Cervelli either. The catcher remains sidelined after taking a heater off the foot early in the week.
In several hours, manager Clint Hurdle hands the ball to another southpaw. Jeff Locke (4-3, 4.33 ERA) aims to capture a career-high fourth straight decision. Most recently, the veteran tossed a three-hitter vs. Miami, inducing 13 groundouts along the way.
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Locke’s repertoire seems destined to flummox the Angels (25-29), who lead the majors by tapping into 53 double plays. Even so, the hurler needs a little help from his friends with the sticks. During their four-game slide, the Buccos are batting .162. Starling Marte and Jung Ho Kang went deep roughly 15 hours ago, but the NL Central stalwarts should settle for nothing less than pounding Jhoulys Chacin (2-3, 4.42).
Mike Scioscia will miss the presence of scheduled starter Nick Tropeano (illness). Look for Pittsburgh (29-25) to indeed halt its funk. The Halos, unfortunately, appear doomed to drop to 13-13 on the road.
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