Pirates vs. Phillies Prediction
Are the Pirates a good bet to beat the Phillies with Gerrit Cole on the hill tonight at 7:05PM ET?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Pirates are -150 money line favorites versus the Phillies, who have odds of +140 to pull off the upset tonight at home. With Cole set to face Ben Lively in the pitching matchup, the over/under currently sits at 9 runs.
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From Rotoworld: Cole was crushed in Friday’s loss to the Giants, allowing seven runs on 10 hits across 5 1/3 innings. On the plus side, he did manage to rack up seven strikeouts on the night while walking two. He gave up a leadoff homer to Denard Span and a barrage of baserunners throughout the rest of his night. He’ll look to get back on track when he takes on the Phillies in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Lively took the loss Friday against the Mets after surrendering two runs over 6 1/3 innings. Lively gave up five hits while walking four and striking out a pair. He managed to avoid a disaster inning, but he has now lost three straight decisions since winning his major league debut. The 25-year-old owns a 3.72 ERA through six starts, but he has struck out just 13 batters in 38 2/3 innings and can be avoided in fantasy leagues.
Bet Tonight’s Pirates vs. Phillies Game
OUR PREDICTION: The Pirates are 18-8 in their last 26 games versus the Phillies and have won five of Cole’s last seven starts. As for the Phillies, they’re 17-45 in their last 62 games overall, are 0-5 in Lively’s last five starts, and are 3-13 in their last 16 games when playing the third game of a series.
WEDNESDAY MLB PREDICTION: PITTSBURGH PIRATES -150