Pittsburgh Pirates (26-27) at San Francisco Giants (28-26)
Game Info: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 3:45 p.m. EST (Oracle Park)
Betting Odds: Giants (-130) / Over/Under (7.5)
Pick: Giants ML (-130)
As the week moves along, lets head out west to California to dive into a matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants, with both squads trying to close the gap between them and the first place teams in their division.
The Pirates have certainly struggled in their last ten games or so, but when we look at the NL Central standings, they are still in a great position to make some noise if they can string together a series of wins. If they are to turn things around after sputtering since their firing start to being the campaign off, starting pitcher for the night, Mitch Keller will have a chance to have a say in the ultimate outcome. Last season was his first full season with the Pirates that he was able to assert his dominance, but I'm not sure many were expecting him to make another huge step in the right direction this season. Nevertheless, in his first eleven games started this year, he boasts an impressive 3.01 ERA with a stellar 6-1 record. If Pittsburgh's bats are able to wake up a bit, the Pirates will have a good shot at securing a win during Wednesday's game with Keller on the mound. One player in the Pirates lineup that they will hope can find his footing is right fielder Connor Joe. In day games this year, he is batting .284 in 74 at-bats. Keep an eye on him to produce during Wednesday's game!
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San Francisco is on the other side of the spectrum at the moment compared to the Pirates, seemingly winning almost every game that they play in in the last 2 weeks. This has allowed them to come within 4.5 games of the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL West. Although they have shut down opponents convincingly recently, their bats have also woken up in impressive fashion. In the first game of the series against the Pirates a few nights back, they were able to score fourteen runs on eighteen hits. In that offensive outburst, five players registered three or more hits, including rookie catcher Patrick Bailey on his 24th birthday. He has only recorded 31 at-bats in the big leagues, but in that short span, he has looked more than comfortable behind the plate. If the Giants can begin to get production out of a few of their young guns, stay on the lookout for them to be in the thick of things in the NL as the season progresses.
Betting trends to consider in this matchup:
- San Francisco is 16-11 as the home team
- The Pirates are 17-23 as the underdog
- The under is 13-9-2 when Pittsburgh has been a road underdog
I am not going to get out of hand and say that I think the Giants are good enough to contend with the Dodgers in a 162 game season, but I will say that I absolutely love the way that they are playing right now. They are killing the ball from both sides of the plate, and are pitching with the best of them in the league. Just two series' ago, they allowed only two runs in the whole series versus the Brewers. I am going to back them to continue on their hot streak tonight against a tough pitcher!
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