Pirates vs. Tigers Pick
Can the Pittsburgh Pirates continue their winning ways over the Detroit Tigers when the two move their series to Detroit at 7:10PM ET tonight?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Tigers are favored at home, as they are getting odds of -135 to win. The Pirates are listed with a money line of +115 to prevail, while the over/under total has been set at 9 runs.
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The pitching matchup today has Ivan Nova (10-8, 3.66 ERA) on the mound for Pittsburgh to face Justin Verlander (7-7, 4.20) of the Tigers. Nova was struggling somewhat recently, but bounced back with a 1-run, 6-inning outing against the Padres last week. He has 89 strikeouts and 19 walks on the season with a 1.18 WHIP. After a poor start to the season, Verlander is starting to look more like his old self lately. He has allowed just two runs over his last 13 innings and had 10 strikeouts with no walks against the Orioles last week. JV has 136 strikeouts this year with 60 walks and a 1.41 WHIP.
The Pirates managed a pair of wins over the Tigers in Detroit over the last two days. Pittsburgh won 3-0 on Monday and 6-3 on Tuesday. The Pirates are now 56-57 overall and 32-26 at home while the Tigers are 51-61 overall and 24-36 on the road.
Tuesday’s game saw the Pirates establish a 6-0 lead and hold off Detroit from there. Matthew Boyd allowed the six runs over just four innings of work to fall to 5-6 for the Tigers. Chad Kuhl gave up three runs in six innings of work, but that was good enough to get his fifth win of the year. Andrew McCutchen had his 23rd home run of the season to lead the Pirates while Kuhl also drove in a pair of runs on his own. Detroit was led by Mikie Mahtook, who was the lone Tiger with two hits.
The Tigers have their longtime ace on the mound today, who has been pitching better lately. The problem is, he has an inconsistent lineup behind him that has been lacking in some pop and dealing with injured veterans. Nova has had good numbers this year and he has a team behind him that still thinks it can make a run at the playoffs. Even if Verlander pitches well, he has seen a number of good starts spoiled by his bullpen. That can definitely happen again tonight.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: PITTSBURGH PIRATES +115