Pittsburgh Pirates vs Minnesota Twins Prediction 6-7-24 Picks

In this article we will formulate a Pittsburgh Pirates vs Minnesota Twins prediction for this MLB game on Friday, June 7th at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game one in this series. 

Pirates are Last in the NL Central

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 29-33 this year and they have won three of their last five games. Pittsburgh is coming off of a series win against the Dodgers, where they won two out of three games and scored 17 runs in the last two games. Prior to that series, the Pirates lost two out of three against the Blue Jays, split a two game series with the Tigers, and won two out of three against the Braves. Pittsburgh is 6-5 in their last eleven games, but they have dropped down to last in the NL Central standings. 

The Pittsburgh pitching staff has a 3.99 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .241 opponent batting average. The Pirates offense has scored 257 runs with a .231 batting average and a .302 on base percentage. Bryan Reynolds is batting .255 with eight home runs and 34 RBI’s for the Pirates this season. Pittsburgh is 16th in team ERA this season, but they have allowed at least five runs in 10 of their last 14 games.

Twins Trying to Bounce Back 

The Minnesota Twins are 33-29 this season and they have lost four of their last five games. Minnesota is coming off of a series loss against New York, where they lost all three games by scores of 5-1, 9-5, and 8-5. Prior to that series, the Twins won two out of three against the Astros, won three out of four against the Royals, and won two out of three against the Rangers. Minnesota is 9-6 in their last 15 games and they are third in the AL Central behind Cleveland and Kansas City. 

The Minnesota pitching staff has a 4.27 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and a .243 opponent batting average. The Twins offense has scored 271 runs with a .229 batting average and a .302 on base percentage. Ryan Jeffers is batting .239 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI’s for the Twins this season. Minnesota is 22nd in team ERA this season and they have allowed at least five runs in eight of their last eleven games. 

Starting Pitchers

The projected starting pitcher for Pittsburgh is Mitch Keller, who is 7-3 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 73.2 innings pitched this year. Keller has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five straight starts and has gone at least six innings in all five of those outings. The projected starting pitcher for Minnesota is Joe Ryan, who is 4-4 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over 72.0 innings pitched this season. Ryan has allowed one earned run or fewer in three of his last five starts, but has allowed nine earned runs in the other two outings against Houston and the Yankees. 

Why the Pittsburgh Pirates will win

The Pirates have won five of their last six games as underdogs following a loss.
The Twins have lost seven of their last eight night games following a road loss.
The Pirates have covered the run line in each of their last five night games against AL Central opponents.
The Twins have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight night games following a road loss.
The Twins have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last five games.
The Twins have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five games.

Total Runs Facts

Eight of the Pirates’ last nine games after playing the previous day have gone OVER the total runs line.
Five of the Twins’ last six night games against National League opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.
The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Twins’ last seven road games against National League opponents.
The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Pirates’ last four games as home underdogs against American League opponents.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Minnesota Twins Prediction 

Pittsburgh really hasn’t played very well over the last few weeks, but they were able to pick up a nice series win over the Dodgers and they are looking to keep that momentum here. Minnesota started the season playing poorly, but they have turned it up lately and they are trying to make some noise in the Central. The Twins are starting Ryan, who is a decent pitcher, but I don’t trust him. The Pirates are going with Keller, who is having one of his best seasons and has been great recently. My Pittsburgh Pirates vs Minnesota Twins prediction is for the Pirates to get the win.