Philadelphia Phillies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 7/30/2021

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet Friday in MLB action from PNC Park. Philadelphia is coming off a series versus the Nationals. The Phillies split the first two games, then in the Thursday doubleheader the Phillies managed another split for a 2-2 series. As for the Pirates, they played the Brewers this week. Pittsburgh lost the first two games in that set, then in the Thursday finale the Pirates took an ugly defeat to complete the sweep. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Philadelphia bagged a tense 6-5 win on Monday over the Nationals, but ended up falling 6-4 on Tuesday. In the Thursday doubleheader, the Phillies lost game one 3-1 but bounced back for an 11-8 victory in game two. The Phillies came back from a 7-0 deficit in dramatic fashion to bag the walk-off win in eight innings.

For the starter job on Friday, the Phillies will turn to Vince Velasquez. This year Velasquez has 79.2 innings with 70 hits, 50 runs (49 earned), 17 homers allowed, 44 walks, 84 Ks and a 5.54 ERA. 

Over on the Pirates’ side, they didn’t have much luck offensively in the first two games versus the Brewers this week, losing 9-0 Tuesday and 7-3 Wednesday. In the Thursday finale, Pittsburgh gave up 16 hits in a bad 12-0 loss. Chad Kuhl put up 5.1 innings with six hits, three earned and one walk. 

For the starter gig in the Friday opener, the Pirates are going with Will Crowe. In his 65.2 innings this year Crowe has 72 hits, 43 earned runs, 15 homers, 31 walks, 62 Ks and a 5.89 ERA. 

The Phillies are 8-3 in their last 11 versus the NL Central and 12-28 in their last 40 road games with a total of 7.0-8.5. The over is 6-0 in the Phillies’ last six in game one of a series and 7-0 in their last seven versus the NL Central. 

Meanwhile, the Pirates are 2-5 in their last seven in game one of a series and 32-69 in their last 101 with a total of 9.0-10.5. The over is 4-1-1 in the Pirates’ last six in game one of a series and 20-8-2 in their last 30 Friday games. 

PICK: I’m going to take a stab on the Pirates. Crowe has posted two earned runs in three of his last four starts, a total of six on 14 hits in 14.2 innings of work. As for Velasquez, he had a nice start versus the Marlins but also has a combined 19 earned runs in 10.2 innings over three of his last four starts. Crowe is going to have to be on point here, but if he can manage a quality start (and if the Pirates’ bats show up—which is a big if), I think Pittsburgh has a reasonable shot.