It is the opening of an interleague series as the Oakland Athletics visit the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with an Athletics-Pirates prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Athletics enter the game losers of four straight, after being swept by the Marlins. On that series, they were outscored by a large margin. The Marlins scored 23 runs in the three games, while the A's scored just six. The Athletics have now just won two of their last 17 games, sitting with a 12-49 record on the season. Meanwhile, the Pirates come in riding a five-game win streak, including a sweep of the Cardinals over the weekend. They are 31-27 on the season and sit just a half-game behind the Brewers for first in the NL Central.
Here are the Athletics-Pirates MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Ahtletics-Pirates Odds
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-140)
Pittsburgh Pirates: -1.5 (+116)
Over: 8.5 (-120)
Under: 8.5 (-102)
How To Watch Athletics vs. Pirates
TV: NBCSCA/ATTP
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:05 PM ET/ 4:05 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread
The Athletics are on pace to be the worst team in MLB history. Since 1901, the New York Mets have had the most losses, with 120 losses in the year. The Athletics are on pace for 130. The worst winning percentage since then belongs to the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, at .235. The Athletics' current winning percentage is .197. To get to a lower winning percentage than that, you would have to go back to the 1899 Cleveland Spiders in the National League. They went 20-134 that year, with a .130 winning percentage. The team would fold after the season. The Athletics will not be folding after this year but will be setting up to move to Las Vegas, where they hope to find more success.
A major reason for the poor showings this year is the offense. They are last in the league in runs scored, batting average, and slugging percentage while sitting second to last in on-base percentage. Amidst the futility, there are bright spots. Ramon Laureano has been hitting well as of late. In the last week, he is hitting .389 with four RBIs and three runs scored. This has been a nice turnaround in the recent stretch of games. He hit just .196 in May, but it starting to pick up his bat. In the same situation is Shea Langeliers. Langeliers is hitting .313 over the last week with two RBIs and two runs scored. He hit just .200 in May, so he is also starting to play better.
On the mound, today for the Athletics will be JP Sears. Sears is 0-3 with a 4.37 ERA on the season. He was much better in May though. He started six games over the month and had a 2.94 ERA in 33.2 innings of work. Still, he came away with five no decisions-and one loss in the month.
Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread
The Pirates offense has been middle of the pack this year in many categories. They are 16th in batting average, 13th in on-base percentage, and 15th in slugging. It has not produced a lot of runs this year though, as they sit 21st in runs scored. They are scoring just 4.4 runs per game for the season, but in this winning streak, they are picking that up. They have scored 24 runs in the last five games, which is good for 4.8 runs per game. The Pirates have also pitched well in there, allowing just 14 runs in the last five games.
Hoping to keep the good pitching going is Johan Ovideo. Ovideo is 3-4 on the season with a 4.50 ERA. In his last start, he went 4.1 innings, giving up just one run. It was his third time in the last four starts that he gave up just one run in a start. It seems like the early season struggles are starting to be resolved for Ovideo. In his last four games, he has a 2.57 ERA.
The hottest bat on the team right now belongs to Ke'Bryan Hayes. Hayes is hitting .450 in the last week with two home runs and seven RBIs. In the series against the Cardinals, he went seven for 11 with two home runs and five RBIs in the series. He also has a 1.909 OPS in the series. Joining him in a having a great series was Carlos Santana. Santana hit just .165 in May, but in the Cardinals series, he was four for 11 with three RBIs.
Final Athletics-Pirates Prediction & Pick
The Pirates did not have a good month of May but have been turning things around as of late. The Athletics are still awful. Even if Sears has a good outing, the bullpen is the worst in the majors. This year, the Athletics have a bullpen ERA of 6.16, the worst in the majors by over a run. With the Pirates starting to hit better, take them in this game.
Final Athletics-Pirates Prediction & Pick: Pirates -1.5 (+116)
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