The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves meet Friday in MLB action from Truist Park. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Atlanta Braves prediction.
Starting Pitching Matchup
The Pittsburgh Pirates will send out Martin Perez for the start here and is 1-3 with a 4.71 ERA and 46 strikeouts this season. In his career, Perez is 0-1 with an 8.00 ERA and 8 strikeouts against Atlanta. The Atlanta Braves will start Charlie Morton here and Morton is 4-4 with a 4.20 ERA and 80 strikeouts this season. This will be Morton’s second career start against the Pirates.
Pittsburgh Pirates Recap
The Pittsburgh Pirates come into this one looking to build on their series win over the Reds thanks to a 6-1 victory over Cincinnati in Wednesday’s series finale. The series win helped the Pirates bounce back from a series loss to the Tampa Bay Rays last weekend.
Pirates Trying To Find Consistency At Halfway Point
Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with 90 hits with 19 doubles along with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs while Andrew McCutchen has 11 home runs and Jack Suwinski has 5 stolen bases. Oneil Cruz leads the Pirates with 6 stolen bases and 94 strikeouts while also posting 15 doubles, 11 home runs and 34 RBIs and Connor Joe has a .245 batting average and 15 doubles as well this season.
Why the Pittsburgh Pirates will win
- The Braves have lost five of their last six games as favorites against National League opponents.
- The underdogs have won four of the Braves’ last five games.
- The Pirates have covered the run line in seven of their last eight night games against teams that held a winning record.
- The Braves have failed to cover the run line in each of their last four games against National League opponents after playing the previous day.
Atlanta Braves Recap
The Atlanta Braves come into this series hoping to bounce back from a 1-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox in a makeup game on Thursday, which didn’t help the fact that the Braves were coming off of a series loss to the Cardinals to start the week.
Braves Looking For Consistency Of Their Own
Marcell Ozuna leads the Braves with 89 hits including 21 home runs and 64 RBIs while Orlando Arcia has 18 doubles and Ozzie Albies has a team-high 22 doubles, logging 72 hits as well this season. Ronald Acuna Jr. has a team-high 16 stolen bases as well this season but is out for the season with a torn ACL. Matt Olson has 19 doubles with a team-high 88 strikeouts and Austin Riley has 14 doubles with a pair of triples.
Why the Atlanta Braves will win
- The Pirates have lost 12 of their last 13 games at Truist Park against NL East opponents that held a winning record.
- The Braves have won nine of their last 10 home games against the Pirates.
- The Pirates have failed to cover the run line in nine of their last 10 games at Truist Park.
- The Braves have covered the run line in six of their last seven games as favorites against NL Central opponents following a loss.
Pirates vs. Braves Prediction
I’m on the Braves in this one. I think Atlanta’s the more trustworthy lineup right now and as much as I don’t love Charlie Morton, he does pitch better at home and I think this is just a bad spot for Martin Perez to make his return from the IL. The Braves have been doing a good job of hitting left-handed pitching, and even if Perez were to have a good start, the Pittsburgh bullpen has not been trustworthy whatsoever. Give me the Braves here.