Pirates vs. Padres MLB Picks
The San Diego Padres can put the finishing touches on a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight with a win at 9:10PM ET.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Pirates are -145 money line favorites versus the Padres, who have odds of +125 to pull off the upset. With Gerrit Cole set to face James Shields in the pitching matchup, the total for tonight’s game sits at 6.5 runs.
Bet Tonight’s Pirates vs. Padres Game
Cole is 0-2 to start the season and owns a 4.22 ERA after allowing five runs on nine hits over 10.2 innings of work. Walks (3.38 BB/9) have been a problem and he’s not striking out batters at a high enough rate (7.59 K/9) to limit some of the damage that is being done, but his 2.49 FIP and 3.61 xFIP paint the picture of brighter days to come. He hasn’t allowed any home runs and his HR/FB ratio is sitting at 0.0%. Can’t get any better than that.
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Shields, meanwhile, is also 0-2 to start the year but his numbers aren’t as promising for his team. His ERA is sitting at 4.05 while his FIP is an ugly 5.30 and is xFIP is also a below average 4.12. His strikeout (6.30) and walk (3.15) rates are even worse than Cole’s are and he’s actually received good batted-ball luck (.250). While he did reach the seventh inning in each of his last two starts, he could be in store for a dud outing.
TONIGHT’S PICK: The Pirates have won nine of Cole’s last 10 starts versus the National League West and are also 4-1 in his last five outings following a quality start in his last appearance. The Bucs have posted a 20-7 record in Cole’s last 27 starts versus a team with a losing record as well. On the other side, the Padres are 0-4 in Shield’s last four starts and are 1-4 in his last five home starts. They’re also 0-7 in their last seven games when their opponent scores two runs or less in its previous contest so expect a breakout tonight by Pittsburgh’s bats.
THURSDAY MLB FREE PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES -145
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