Pirates vs. Phillies Prediction
Will the Phillies salvage one game in their series against the Pirates tonight at 6:05PM ET?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Pirates are -140 money line favorites versus the Phillies, who have odds of +126 to pull off the upset at home. With Chad Kuhl set to face Jeremy Hellickson in the pitching matchup, the over/under currently sits at 9 runs.
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From Rotoworld: Kuhl limited the Giants to one run on two hits over six innings but didn’t factor in the decision Saturday. The game went 11 innings, with both Kuhl and Giants starter Matt Moore long gone by the time it was decided. That takes little away from the 24-year-old’s outing, which was, if not his best start this year, on the short list for best starts to date. Kuhl also walked one and struck out three. His ERA has gotten progressively better each month, registering a 4.50 ERA in four June starts, so Kuhl will try to keep the trend going in July. As it is, he’s 2-6 with a 5.26 ERA and 1.49 WHIP ahead of a start Thursday against the Phillies.
Hellickson was charged with four runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Mets on Saturday. He gave up seven hits, including solo home runs by Lucas Duda and T.J. Rivera. He issued two walks, struck out four batters and didn’t factor into the decision. His record holds at 5-5 with a 4.48 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. He has managed only 49 strikeouts in 96 1/3 innings. Among qualified starters, only Ty Blach has a lower K/9 than Hellickson’s 4.29 strikeouts per nine innings.
Bet Tonight’s Pirates vs. Phillies Game
OUR PREDICTION: The Pirates have lost six of Kuhl’s last seven starts, are 1-7 in his last eight road outings, and are 2-9 in his last 11 starts coming off four days of rest. Pittsburgh has also dropped four of Kuhl’s last five starts coming off a quality start in his last appearance and is 1-5 in his last six outings after scoring five runs or more in its previous game.
THURSDAY MLB PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES +126