The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet in MLB action from PNC Park on Wednesday night.
The Arizona Diamondbacks will attempt to rebound from a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Pirates from Tuesday night. Ketel Marte had a pinch-hit two-run home run to make up the scoring for Arizona in the loss while Josh Rojas had a pair of doubles and Asdrubal Cabrera went 2 for 4 with a double as well in the loss. Pavin Smith and David Peralta each had base hits as well to finish off Arizona’s offense as a team in the losing effort. Madison Bumgarner took the loss, falling to 7-8 on the year after allowing all four runs on six hits while striking out five over six innings of work. Tyler Gilbert will start here and is 1-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 12 strikeouts this season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will try to build off of their win over the Diamondbacks from Tuesday. Anthony Alford led the way with a two-run home run while Michael Chavis had a solo homer. Bryan Reynolds added an RBI as well to finish off Pittsburgh’s scoring as a team in the win while Ke’Bryan Hayes had a triple and Kevin Newman had a double. Gregory Polanco and Colin Moran each had a hit as well to finish off the offense for the Pirates in the winning effort. JT Brubaker got the win to improve to 5-13 on the year after tossing five shutout innings, giving up just four hits while striking out six in the win. Chris Stratton closed the 9th for his 2nd save of the year. Mitch Keller is expected to start here and is 4-10 with a 6.35 ERA and 66 strikeouts this season.
Arizona is 27-71 in their last 98 games overall and 7-17 in their last 24 games against the NL Central while the over is 5-1 in their last 6 road games. Pittsburgh is 33-69 in their last 102 games overall and 3-14 in their last 17 games against the NL West while the under is 4-0-2 in their last 6 games against a left-handed starter.
I got burned by the Diamondbacks on Tuesday with Bumgarner on the mound, so I’m not rushing to back them on a quick turnaround, but I’m also not looking to bet the Pirates especially with Mitch Keller on the mound. Instead, I’m looking at the under, but not from a pitching perspective. These are two of the most inconsistent offensive units in all of baseball, and their records are no accident. These two teams struggle to put bat to ball. I think Wednesday ends up being no different as these two have a hard time putting up runs again, so give me the under.