Subscribe
Follow Us
The Giants make the trip to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates! These two teams have been dealing with consistency issues with both having losing records, but both teams have the talent and are capable of getting over .500 overall. Our MLB odds series has our Giants-Pirates prediction, odds, and pick for Wednesday.
The Pirates have started the season being inconsistent at 22-26, and they have won three out of their last four games. They have struggled behind the plate, but their pitching has been solid and just over the middle of the pack this season. Connor Joe, Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, and Jack Suwinski have been solid behind the plate despite the offense as a whole struggling at times. Bailey Falter, Jared Jones, and Mitche Keller have been solid for the pitching staff. It is also worth noting that Paul Skenes has started two games and has been great for the Pirates. The Pirates have not been able to find any consistency so far this season.
The Giants have disappointed so far this season towards a 23-25 record and they come into this series on a four-game winning streak. The Giants have been very good behind the plate on offense but then their pitching has struggled and ranks near the bottom of the MLB. Matt Chapman, Thairo Estrada, Michael Conforto, Jung Hoo Lee, and Jorge Soler make up the bulk of a very talented batting lineup. Their pitching needs to be better, but Logan Webb, Kyle Harrison, and Jordan Hicks have been solid to varying degrees for the Giants, despite the staff's struggles overall. The Giants have talent, but they have had issues putting it all together this season, things might be clicking now with their winning streak.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Giants-Pirates Odds
San Francisco Giants: -1.5 (+160)
Moneyline: +102
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-194)
Moneyline: -120
Over: 8 (-104)
Under: 8 (-118)
How to Watch Giants vs. Pirates
Time: 6:40 pm ET
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh / NBC Sports Bay Area
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Giants Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Giants are starting Blake Snell on the mound where he has a 0-3 record, an 11.57 ERA, and a 1.97 WHIP up to this point in the season. He has allowed 15 runs on 18 hits with five walks and 12 strikeouts through 11.2 total innings. In his three starts this season, the Giants have gone 0-3 to reflect his record. In his last start he got shelled, Snell pitched 4.2 innings and he allowed five runs on nine hits with one walk and three strikeouts in a Giants loss. Snell has struggled after his great year last season. This is a good matchup for him to get back on track with how inconsistent the Pirates have been behind the plate.
The Giants' offense has been very good this season. They are eighth in team batting average at .247 after finishing last season with a .254 batting average. The offense is led by Michael Conforto and Thairo Estrada in almost every important batting category. Conforto leads the way in batting average at .280, is tied for the lead in home runs with Thairo Estrada at seven, and in OBP at .331. Estrada then leads the way in RBI at 26, in total hits at 44, and is tied for the home run lead at seven with Conforto. The Giants offense gets a tough matchup against Jared Jones on the mound for the Pirates, due to his great play so far.
Why The Pirates Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Pirates are starting Jared Jones on the mound in this game and he has a 3-4 record, a 2.89 ERA, and a 0.91 WHIP. He has started nine games this season, and the Pirates have gone 4-5. In his last start, he pitched six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with zero walks, and seven strikeouts in a Pirates win. Jones has been one of the best pitchers the Pirates have had available and a key piece in a solid pitching staff overall.
The offense for the Pirates has struggled this season. They are 27th in the MLB in team batting average at .226 after having a team batting average of .239 one season ago. Connor Joe, Oneil Cruz, and Bryan Reynolds are the leaders in almost every batting category. Joe leads in batting average at .280, in RBI at 22, and in OBP at .350. Cruz leads the way in home runs at seven and Reynolds leads the way in total hits at 48. This offense gets a favorable matchup against Blake Snell on the mound, who is coming back from injury, before the injury, he was not playing well and got shelled in his last time out.
Final Giants-Pirates Prediction & Pick
The Giants are red-hot and play a very similar team to them in the Pirates. They are starting Snell, now that he's back from injury, while the Pirates are starting Jones, and should have the advantage there. The Giants have the better offense, but thanks to Jones they should slow the Giants offense down. Expect the Pirates to cover and potentially win at home against the Giants.
Click here for more betting news and predictions
Final Giants-Pirates Prediction & Pick: Pirates +1.5 (-194)
