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It is time for some interleague baseball as the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the Baltimore Orioles. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Pirates-Orioles prediction, pick, and how-to watch.
The Pirates have now lost nine of their last ten games. In the process, the offense has done silent. They scored three runs yesterday, which is the most they have scored in the last ten games. The only game they won in that time was a 2-0 win over the Rockies. Still, the Pirates sit in first place in their division, a half-game up on the Brewers. The Orioles just took two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays. They are now 24-13 on the year and hold the second-best record in the American League. They have just played six games against the Braves and Rays, two of the best teams in the league, and came out with three wins.
Here are the Pirates-Orioles MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Pirates-Orioles Odds
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-154)
Baltimore Orioles: -1.5 (+128)
Over: 9 (-102)
Under: 9 (-120)
How To Watch Pirates vs. Orioles
TV: ATTP/MASN2
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 Pirates Could Cover The Spread
The Pirates have struggled, but there is some potency in this offense. They won 20 of their first 28 games on the season, scoring plenty of runs in the process. Two of the best bats in the lineup will happen to see a right-handed pitcher on the mound for the Orioles today. First is Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds is hitting .297 on the year, but just .229 in May so far. Against righties this year, he is hitting .340, with five home runs and twenty RBIs. Andrew McCutchen has been hitting .269 against right-handed pitching while hitting four home runs. McCutchen has also cooled down a little in May. He is hitting just .250 but still has four home runs this month.
Having a solid month in May has been Ke'Bryan Hayes. Hayes is hitting .300 this month with a .364 on-base percentage. He needs to get some more clutch hits though. He has yet to have a hit this month with runners in scoring position, and that contributes to his zero RBIs on the month. If he starts adding timely hits to his already impressive hitting, the Pirates may start scoring some runs.
Johan Ovideo will be on the mound today and his last three starts have been rough. He has given up four or more earned runs while going less than six innings in each of them. Two starts ago against the Nationals, he made it just 2.1 innings after giving up seven earned runs.
Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread
The Orioles are finding ways to win against some of the best teams. They have found clutch hitting, such as Austin Hays driving in the winning run against the Rays. The bullpen has been great, giving up just two runs in 9.1 innings of work against the Rays. The whole pitching staff had been solid. They have given up just nine runs in their last four games. This year the bullpen has been one of the best in baseball. Felix Bautista leads the team in saves, while Yennir Cano has been nearly untouchable. He has pitched 18.2 innings of scoreless baseball so far this year. The bullpen is top five in ERA, FIP, and WAR this year.
Charged with getting the game to the bullpen will be Kyle Bradish. Bradish started the season strong, going 7.2 innings over two outings without giving up a run. The third start of the year was just 2.1 innings and seven earned runs. In the two starts since, Bradish has not made it to record an out in the sixth inning, and has given up three runs in each.
The Orioles may need some run support then, and that will come from Ryan Mountcastle. While Mountcastle only has five RBIs on the month, and all of them came against the Royals on May 2nd. He is still a solid player. Mountcastle has a slash line of .289/.341/.553 this month, and if he continues his hitting the RBIs will ultimately come. Cedric Mullins saw this earlier in the month. He has been on a streak of hitting without getting RBIs but that turned around quickly as he drove in seven runs in four games.
Final Pirates-Orioles Prediction & Pick
These are two teams going in opposite directions. The Pirates are not scoring and losing to teams such as the Rockies. The Orioles are pitching great and beating teams like the Rays and Braves. Unless the Pirates put up a bunch against Bradish early, there does not seem like a clear path to scoring. With that, the Orioles get a win in this one.
Final Pirates-Orioles Prediction & Pick: Orioles -1.5 (+128)
