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The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to struggle as they head into the second game of the series with the Cleveland Guardians. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Guardians-Pirates prediction, pick, and how to watch.
Both teams opened up the second half by being swept over the weekend. One of them had to break their losing streak and it was the Guardians in a big way. It started in the fourth inning as Amed Rosario hit a two-run home run off Quinn Priester, who was making his first MLB start. In the fifth, Bo Naylor doubled in a run to make it 3-0. The Guardians broke it open in the sixth, with Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor hitting RBI doubles before a two-run home run by Andres Gimenez. Josh Naylor would end up adding a two-run home run in the game, and the Guardians would win 11-0.
With the win, the Guardians are now 46-48 on the season and are 1.5 games back of the Twins for first place in the AL Central. The loss took the Pirates to 41-53 on the season and they are now tied for last in the NL Central, a division they were leading on June 15th.
Here are the Guardians-Pirates MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Guardians-Pirates Odds
Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+142)
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-176)
Over: 8.5 (-114)
Under: 8.5 (-106)
How To Watch Guardians vs. Pirates
TV: BSGL/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 Guardians Could Cover The Spread
The Cleveland offense finally showed up last night. After scoring just nine runs in the first three games since the All-Star break, they scored 11 runs last night. Still, this year it has been a struggle. Cleveland is 27th in the majors in runs scored this year. Meanwhile, are 15th in batting average, 20th in on-base percentage, and 26th in slugging.
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It was the Naylor brothers once again setting the tone for the Guardians last night. Josh Naylor has three more RBIs on the night and has been leading the way for them this year. He leads the team in batting average at .310 on the season, while leading the team in RBIs with 69. He has been on fire this month, hitting .395 on the month with a .435 OBP. Nalylor has three home runs and 11 RBIs this month alone, while also scoring eight times. Brother Bo has not had the same success this month, but still been solid. On the month he has hit just .150, but has an OBP of .300. He has six RBIs on the month now, after adding one last night on his third double of the month.
Joining the Naylor brothers in a solid month has been Steven Kwan. This month he is hitting .327 with six RBIs and a home run. Kwan scored twice last night, giving him eight runs on the month, while he drove in an RBI as well. Kwan also has hits in every game so far since the All-Star break. Amed Rosario also kickstarted his month last night with two hits, two runs scored, two RBIs, and a home run. He is now hitting .288 on the month with two home runs and 14 RBIs. He has also added ten runs in the month as well.
It will be Logan Allen on the hill in this one. He is 3-2 on the year with a 3.47 ERA. Allen has not given up an earned run in each of his last two starts, but they have also been short starts as his pitch count was high. He has only gone 7.2 innings combined in his last two starts. The Guardians have been solid this year with him on the mound. Overall, when Allen starts the Guardians have gone 9-3, including winning his last six starts.
Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread
Like the Guardians, the Pirate's offense had been struggling. Unlike the Guardians, the Pirates did not break out of it last night. On the year, they are 26th in the majors in runs scored. They are also 21st in batting average, 22nd in on-base percentage, and 25th in slugging percentage. The Pirates are led on offense by Jack Suwinski. He has 19 home runs this year with 48 RBIs while hitting .224. It has been a struggle since the break for him. Since the All-Star break, Suwkinski is 0-12 at the plate with a walk and five strikeouts.
Unlike Suwinski, Henry Davis has been hitting well since the break. He is 6-14 with three runs scored a home run and two RBIs. He has also walked three times and only struck out once. Ji-Man Choi has been hitting better as of late. He came back to the lineup on July 7th after last playing on April 13th. Choi has hit .150 since coming back, with two home runs and four RBIs. He has been striking out consistently though, striking out once in all but one game this month. Conner Joe has also been hot as of late as well. He is hitting .333 on the month with a .467 on-base percentage. Joe does not have an RBI though, and has only one extra base hit, which is a double. He has scored three times tough.
Still, many bats have gone silent in their four games since the All-Star break. Carlos Santana has just two hits but has walked five times. He does not have an RBI in his ten at-bats. Bryan Reynolds is just 3-15, with a run scored and an RBI. Nick Gonzales is just 2-15 with five strikeouts. With most of the team cold, the Pirates need to find a spark to get this offense rolling.
It will be Mitch Keller on the mound today for the Pirates. He is 9-4 on the season with a 3.31 ERA. In his last start, he went seven innings and gave up just one hit, but still got a no-decision, as the Diamondbacks won in ten innings. This year he has been up and down. Since May 26th he has made nine starts. In four of them, he has given up one run or less. In the other five, he has given up four or more runs.
Final Guardians-Pirates Prediction & Pick
While both teams came into the game cold, the Guardians were in a much better position to turn it around. It showed last night, as they won with ease. Unless Mitch Keller can hold the Guardians to just a run or two, expect more of the same. The Guardians just have the better offense, and the pitching match-up is pretty even today. Pick the Guardians in this one over the Pirates.
Final Guardians-Pirates Prediction & Pick: Guardians -1.5 (+142)
