Buccos need to pull through vs. Brewers
The Pirates entered the weekend with a golden opportunity to make up ground in the National League wild-card race. Their first two tilts in Milwaukee, though, have gone anything but according to plan.
Clint Hurdle’s crew will try to avoid getting this afternoon, with a 1:35 p.m. ET first pitch at Miller Park. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives Pittsburgh odds of -190 to salvage the series finale, whereas the Brewers represent +170 underdogs. The over/under run total holds steady at 8.5.
After suffering a shutout in the opener in Friday’s opener, the Buccos dropped a 7-4 verdict last night. They’ve stranded a total of 17 runners in the two contests. Perhaps the only bit of consolation is the continued improvement of Andrew McCutchen. The former NL MVP suffered a brutal first half of the season, but he’s hitting at a .313 clip since Aug. 12.
Steven Brault (0-1, 3.86 ERA), in particular, would love to see McCutchen rise to the occasion in a few hours. The Pittsburgh rookie draws his fifth assignment in place of the injured Gerrit Cole. Most recently, the southpaw held the Cubs to two runs on five base knocks at Wrigley Field.
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Craig Counsell counters with Chase Anderson (7-11, 4.29), who’s failed to make it out of the sixth in 11 of his past 12 assignments. The Texas native holds a 1-2 mark with a 1.67 WHIP in six lifetime outings against the Buccos. Yet he’s a respectable 6-5 with a 4.01 ERA at home this season.
Milwaukee had the lowest winning percentage of any team in the senior circuit in August. Nonetheless, Ryan Braun (.308/.369/.535) & Co. are figuring out a way to stifle an opponent that’s truly playing for something down the stretch. Just don’t bank on the Pirates leaving town on a four-game losing streak.
SUNDAY MLB FREE PICK: PIRATES -1.5