The Pittsburgh Pirates take on the Oakland Athletics. Our MLB odds series has our Pirates Athletics prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Pirates Athletics.

The Pittsburgh Pirates started the 2023 season hot, then quickly cooled off. They started the 2024 season hot at 9-2, and have very quickly cooled off. It seems that the Buccos just can't sustain what they do in early April. It's a very frustrating time for a team which thought it might have been ready to take the next step in its evolution this season. The Pirates just don't have enough offense. One can point to closer David Bednar having a miserable year — which is true — but the Pirates would be leading by three or four runs in ninth innings if they could score. Their lack of offense is putting them in precarious situations and is wasting the good pitching this team gets more often than not.

The Pirates just played a three-game series over the weekend in San Francisco. The Pirates did not score more than two runs in the regulation nine innings in any of the three games it played versus the Giants. Pittsburgh lost 3-0 on Friday. The Pirates were tied 1-1 after nine on Saturday and then scored three runs in the top of the 10th for a 4-3 win. On Sunday, the Pirates managed only two runs in a 3-2 loss. Despite not allowing more than three runs in any of the three games in the series, the Pirates lost the series. That's a searing indictment of the team's offense. Something has to change if Pittsburgh is going to have a better season.

Here are the Pirates-Athletics MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Pirates-Athletics Odds

Pittsburgh Pirates: -1.5 (+125)

Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-150)

Over: 8 (-110)

Under: 8 (-110)

How To Watch Pirates vs. Athletics

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh (Pirates) / NBC Sports California (Athletics) / MLB Extra Innings

Stream: ESPN Plus

Time: 9:40 p.m. ET/6:40 p.m. PT

*Watch Pirates-Athletics LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread

The Pirates have been really impotent on offense, and that is obviously a reason to think long and hard about betting on this team to win, but at some point, even a bad team has a good offensive game. It's simply the laws of physics in baseball. Over 162 games, bad teams win, bad offenses score seven runs, and hitting slumps get broken. It's just the way the sport works.

Other than that, the other big reason to pick Pittsburgh here is that the Pirates have spent the past several days in the San Francisco Bay Area, having played the Giants. They won't have anything more than a short bus ride to Oakland, all while the A's have had to fly in from Baltimore after a tough and draining series against the Orioles. Rest and readiness should really aid the Pirates here.

Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread

The A's just played seven road games against the two best teams in the American League East — possibly the entire American League — and went 4-3. Oakland split four in Yankee Stadium against New York and then won a three-game series in Baltimore versus the Orioles. The A's showed a lot of toughness and resilience. They battled late in games and won a few games with big late-game hits, such as a Zack Gelof homer in the ninth inning to beat the Yankees last Monday, followed by Kyle McCann's ninth-inning game-winning homer off Craig Kimbrel to beat the O's on Sunday. This is a much-improved team making winning plays. Oakland is getting more big late-game hits than Pittsburgh. The A's also have Mason Miller, the electric, young star out of the bullpen. There are many reasons to like them in this game.

Final Pirates-Athletics Prediction & Pick

These two teams are not trustworthy. Stay away from this one.

Final Pirates-Athletics Prediction & Pick: Pirates -1.5