Sean O’Sullivan (0-1, 4.91 ERA) and A.J. Burnett (1-1, 1.66 ERA) start in the second of a four-game series between the Philadelphia Phillies (11-22) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (16-16) at Citizens Bank Park. The Pirates won the last game 4-3 and Pittsburgh leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May. 12 and can be seen on ROOT-PIT and CSN-PHI.
O’Sullivan pitched 5.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering four runs, striking out two and walking two in a 7-2 defeat to the Nationals. Ryan Howard (.225, 9 Rs, 6 HRs, 15 RBIs) went 1 for 3 yesterday. Burnett is 6-9 with a 5.00 ERA when pitching against the Phillies. He takes on a below-average Philadelphia offense which is hitting just .229 this season. Starling Marte (.277, 17 Rs, 8 HRs, 24 RBIs, 5 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run, one home run, and three RBIs.
Pittsburgh takes on Philadelphia as a -154 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Phillies have recorded an overall money line of -735 and have shown a weak performance as an underdog this season with a record of 10-19. Philadelphia has recorded a disappointing 3-7 record as the underdog over its last 10 games.
In games where it is the favorite, Pittsburgh has a 12-9 record and an overall money line of -337. Pittsburgh’s pitching staff is one of the top in the NL, with a 3.15 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Pirates are fifth in the NL on the road with an average of 7.8 hits allowed per away game.
The Pirates have the edge in the season series, 1-0. The Phillies have a bad 8-18 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Burnett takes the mound.
Predictions: SU Winner – PIT, O/U – Under
Notes
The Phillies are 1-1 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Pirates are 0-4 in such matchups.
The Pirates are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Phillies have a 6-14 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Phillies are 3-18. The Pirates have a 4-11 record when opponents outhit them.
Both falling near the bottom of the league based on total home runs this season, Philadelphia ranks 29th with 18 homers and Pittsburgh is 21st with 24.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh both rank in the top half of the league in hits. Philadelphia sits at 15th with 7.53 hits per game and Pittsburgh ranks 12th with 8.03.
Ranking 30th, Philadelphia is at the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.616). Pittsburgh ranks near the bottom at 28th with an OPS of .652.
When the Pirates allow at least one home run, they are 5-10. When the Phillies allow one or more homers, they have a 5-15 record.
