Charlie Morton (7-4, 4.36 ERA) and Jake Peavy (3-5, 4.18 ERA) are on the hill in the first of a four-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates (71-47) and the San Francisco Giants (65-55) at PNC Park. Action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 20 and can be seen on CSBy, RTPT and MLBN.
Morton pitched 6.1 innings in his most recent start, surrendering two runs (one unearned), striking out nine and walking one in a 5-3 defeat to the Mets. Andrew McCutchen (.296, 68 Rs, 18 HRs, 78 RBIs, 6 SBs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 3. Peavy went 5.2 innings, surrendering five runs, striking out two and walking three in a 12-6 win over the Nationals in his last outing. Brandon Crawford (.272, 58 Rs, 19 HRs, 75 RBIs, 4 SBs) has been successful at the plate, going 2 for 3 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Pittsburgh is a -124 favorite against San Francisco and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Pirates have recorded an overall money line of +1,445 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 54-27. The Pirates have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 6.0 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.3 runs per game.
In games where it is the underdog, San Francisco has a 30-25 record and an overall money line of +554. The Giants are tough outs for opponents, leading the NL with 9.3 hits per game. The Giants allow 3.8 runs per game, but have improved upon those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 2.7 runs per game during that span. When it comes to issuing walks on the road, the Giants have the fifth-fewest in the NL with an average of just 2.8 walks allowed per game.
The Pirates have the edge in the season series, 3-0. The Pirates have a 57-38 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Peavy takes the mound. Morton (RHP) will be on the hill against the Giants, who have a 49-44 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – Pit, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, San Francisco is 29-18, while Pittsburgh is 24-25.
The Giants are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Pirates have a 29-28 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Giants are 57-9. The Pirates have a 50-6 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 13th in runs, Pittsburgh has earned 505 this season. San Francisco ranks eighth with 522 runs.
Ranking 21st, Pittsburgh is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 317 this season. San Francisco ranks in the bottom half at 19th with 327.
The Pirates are 46-23 when they hit at least one home run. The Giants perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 43-23 record.
