Cole Hamels (2-3, 3.68 ERA) and the Philadelphia Phillies (11-23) go up against Francisco Liriano (1-2, 2.79 ERA) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (17-16) in the third of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park. The Pirates won the last game 7-2 and Pittsburgh leads the series 2-0. The game starts at 7:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May. 13 and will air on ROOT-PIT and CSN-PHI.
Hamels is 2-2 with a 2.76 ERA against the Pirates in his career, and is up against a struggling Pittsburgh offense that’s hitting just .237 on the year. Odubel Herrera (.275, 12 Rs, 1 HR, 10 RBIs, 5 SBs) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 4. In his career against the Phillies, Liriano is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts. Gregory Polanco (.268, 20 Rs, 1 HR, 11 RBIs, 10 SBs) went 1 for 5 yesterday with one run and two RBIs.
Philadelphia is a slight underdog (+103) and the Over/Under (O/U) is seven runs. The Phillies perform poorly as an underdog with a 10-20 record and have an overall money line of -835. They are 3-7 as the underdog over their last 10 games.
Moving on to the opposing team, the Pirates come into this game with a win percentage of .591 when playing as the favorite (13-9) and an overall money line of -237. The Pirates are a problem for opposing batters, sporting a 3.15 ERA this season. They also allow just 7.9 hits per road game, good for fifth in the NL.
The previous two games have all gone Pittsburgh’s way. The Phillies will take on a left-hander (Liriano) in this game and have a 3-3 record against left-handed starting pitchers this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – PIT, O/U – Under
Notes
Philadelphia has won 38% (8-13) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Pittsburgh has won 45% (5-6) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Phillies are coming off of a weak pitching game where they recorded six strikeouts. The Pirates have a record of 6-4 when opponents’ pitchers have that many strikeouts or fewer.
It looks like the Pirates have a slight leg up on the Phillies, as the Pirates have won their last four games while the Phillies have lost their last four.
When they outhit their opponents, the Pirates are 11-3. The Phillies have an 8-2 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 30th, Philadelphia is at the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 96 this season. Pittsburgh ranks near the bottom at 22nd with 128.
Both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are tied at 25th in walks with a total of 78 this season.
When the Phillies hit at least one home run, they are 4-10. When the Pirates hit at least one homer, they have a 12-7 record.
