After winning the middle game of a series at San Diego and pushing the finale to extras, the Pittsburgh Pirates go up the road to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers for the opener of a three-game bill Monday night.
The Pirates took two against Los Angeles the last time these teams got together.
The Dodgers (33-14) are returning home from a 10-game trip that closed with a four-game sweep of Arizona. In all, they won eight of 10 on the road. They lead the Padres by three contests in the National League West standings.
Pittsburgh (19-27) is tied with Chicago for fourth place in the NL Central. They’ve alternated wins and losses in their last six games, including a 4-2 defeat in 10 innings Sunday.
Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has been at the Pirates’ offensive forefront, posting a team-high .284 batting average and a .371 on-base percentage to this point.
The rest of the crew hasn’t really hit to such a standard, though. Pittsburgh currently grades out as the fourth-worst hitting team in the major leagues. Only Detroit, Arizona, and Oakland have worse averages at the plate than the Buccos’ .221.
The Pirates also have the second-fewest RBIs (144) and runs in total (155).
In the last week, second baseman Josh VanMeter has a .389 average in 18 plate appearances. He notched four RBIs, a homer, and a triple during that stretch.
Pirates at Dodgers Odds
MLB odds have the Dodgers as heavy favorites favored to take this contest. Los Angeles is -1.5 on the run line at -160, while the Pirates are +132 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Dodgers are -350 and Pittsburgh a +280 underdog. The total has been set at eight runs, with the over being -118 and the under -104 at the time of this writing.
MLB betting trends look at Los Angeles as one of the league’s most adept bat swingers. The Dodgers have the fifth-highest batting average in the bigs (.253), the most runs driven in (245), and more runs than any other club (262).
First baseman Freddie Freeman, shortstop Trea Turner, and right fielder Mookie Betts are each hitting .294 or better on the season. Betts has belted the second-most dingers in the league thus far, with 14. Turner’s 39 RBIs are bested by only three other players.
Matchup Information
Pirates at Dodgers Betting Preview
Walker Buehler will take the baseball for Los Angeles. Up until now, he sports a 2.91 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He’s taken consecutive decisions over Arizona and Washington recently.
In fact, Buehler has four wins in his last five starts, the other being a no-decision that Los Angeles gave away in extra frames. His six wins are tied for tops in the league.
Right-handed Zach Thompson gets the start for Pittsburgh. He has a 5.50 ERA and, in his last outing, had to use 65 pitches to get through just three innings.
In that game, against Colorado, he conceded seven knocks — including a long ball — and four earned runs. The Pirates still ended up winning, 10-5.
In his second year of service — and first, in the Steel City — he has a 3.95 ERA to show for 35 appearances.
Pirates at Dodgers Picks and Predictions
The fact that Buehler is throwing for the hosts and has allowed two earned runs or less on seven occasions doesn’t bode well for Pittsburgh. MLB picks today will agree with that.
Buehler is just another reason why the Dodgers have a league-best 2.67 ERA. It’s likely that — against a largely unimpressive Pirates order — he can do enough to let the offense build a lead.
The mix will be too much for the Pirates to overcome. Los Angeles should stay on track as one of baseball’s hottest teams, leaving Pittsburgh to try to find something that works.
Get to betting on baseball and take the over. The Dodgers bats will be hot against a sophomore hurler.
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