Pirates vs Giants MLB Lines & Expert Betting Prediction

Pirates vs Giants MLB Expert Betting Prediction

Written by on August 9, 2018

The Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants are both wild-card hopefuls as they open a weekend series in Bay Area on Thursday night. The Bucs send Ivan Nova to the mound and they are MLB betting underdogs against lefty Andrew Suarez.

How to Bet Pirates vs Giants MLB Lines & Game Info

  • When: Thursday, 10:15 PM ET
  • Where: AT&T Park, San Francisco
  • Probable pitchers (away/home): Ivan Nova/Andrew Suarez
  • TV: MLB Extra Innings
  • Stream: MLB.tv
  • Radio: TuneIn
  • MLB Lines: San Francisco Giants -140 / Pittsburgh Pirates +120 (Total 8)

Why Bet on Pittsburgh?

The Pirates were scorching-hot there for a while but have cooled down since their 11-game winning streak was snapped on July 25 in Cleveland. They aren’t likely good enough to get a wild-card spot. On Wednesday, the team activated 1B Josh Bell from the 10-day disabled list. Bell missed a little under two weeks with a minor left oblique strain. He was hitting well before the injury but holds a disappointing .749 OPS with just six home runs in 104 total games this season. Dating back to July 8, the Pirates lead the National League with a 3.09 ERA (230.0ip/79er) and an 18-7 record. Only the Athletics (2.93) and Red Sox (3.00) have a lower ERA in the Majors in that time. Jordy Mercer has hit safely in 12 of his last 15 games and has reached base safely in 19 of his last 20 games, going 21-for-61 (.344) with eight walks and 2 HBP. Gregory Polanco has hit 19 home runs as a right fielder this season; second in the league behind Bryce Harper’s 21 from that position. In team history, only four other Pirates have hit 20 or more home runs in one season while playing right field. Dave Parker did it four times, Roberto Clemente did it three times while Bobby Bonilla and Reggie Sanders accomplished it one time each. Sanders was the last to do it, hitting 22 as a right fielder in 2003. It’s Ivan Nova (6-6, 4.49) here. Nova didn’t factor into the decision in Saturday’s 8-4 loss to the Cardinals, giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks over four innings while striking out three. The right-hander has seen his season take a downturn since the beginning of July, and Nova now has a 5.81 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 17:10 K: BB in 31 innings over his last six starts. He’s gotten past the fifth twice in July and August, both wins. Nova has surrendered just one home run in his last four starts after giving up a total of eight in his previous three starts. Nova is 1-1 with a 3.16 ERA (25.2ip/9er) in four career starts vs. San Francisco. He’s 0-1 in one start this year; he lost a 5-0 decision to Derek Holland at PNC Park on 5/15.

Why Bet on San Francisco?

The Giants had a rare Wednesday off after being swept two at home to Houston to start this week. San Francisco totaled just two runs. Will Smith surrendered three runs in the ninth inning to blow a save against the Astros on Monday. Smith walked a pair of batters before serving up a go-ahead three-run blast to Marwin Gonzalez with two outs in the ninth inning. It was his first blown save since June 13. He had converted his last seven save chances without incident. Smith is 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA and 50/9 K/BB ratio over 36 1/3 innings. 2B Chase d’Arnaud left Tuesday’s game against the Astros with a knee injury. He fouled a ball off his kneecap in the bottom of the fourth inning and was replaced mid-at-bat by Alen Hanson. D’Arnaud has been diagnosed with a left knee contusion and is day-to-day. Pirates vs Giants is set to begin at 10:15 PM ET. The Giants have spent a total of 68 days either one game below .500, even at .500 or a game above .500, the most of any team this year. The 68 days are the third-most by the club since moving to San Francisco in 1958, and the most since having a franchise-record 80 such days in 2006. The Giants lead MLB this season with 21 days at .500. San Francisco is hitting .204 with runners in scoring position and two outs this season, which ranks as the lowest figure in the National League and the third-lowest in the Majors (Rangers, .189 & Orioles, .191). It’s lefty Andrew Suarez here. The 25-year-old is slated to make his 20th career Major League start. He has gone 4-7 with a 4.60 ERA (54er, 105.2ip) in 19 outings, with the Giants going 8-11 in those games. He lost in the Giants’ 9-3 loss at Arizona on Saturday. Suarez allowed eight runs on 10 hits with two walks, five strikeouts and two home runs allowed over 5.0 innings. The hits and runs allowed were career highs. He has a 7.89 ERA (19er, 21.2ip) over his last four starts.

Latest MLB Betting Trends

  • Over is 6-1-3 in the last 10 meetings in San Francisco
  • Pirates are 7-2 in the last 9 meetings in San Francisco
  • Giants are 7-0 in their last 7 games following an off day
  • Giants are 6-2 in Suarez’s last 8 starts vs. a team with a winning record

Pirates vs Giants MLB Betting Prediction

Suarez will bounce back, so take the Giants.