Gerrit Cole (14-7, 2.61 ERA) and Mike Leake (9-6, 3.52 ERA) take the hill in the third of a four-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates (72-48) and the San Francisco Giants (66-56) at PNC Park. The Giants won the last game 6-4 and the series is currently tied 1-1. Action begins at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 22 and can be seen on CSBy and FS1.
Cole pitched 6.2 innings in his most recent start, surrendering four runs, striking out five and walking one in a 4-1 defeat to the Diamondbacks. Andrew McCutchen (.295, 69 Rs, 18 HRs, 78 RBIs, 6 SBs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run. Leake went 6.1 innings, surrendering two runs, striking out five and walking two in a 2-1 defeat to the Rangers in his last outing. Brandon Belt (.275, 57 Rs, 17 HRs, 59 RBIs, 8 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Giants, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one RBI.
Pittsburgh is a -175 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 +1,645 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 56-27. Pittsburgh is an impressive 3-1 as the favorite over its last 10 games.
In games where it is the underdog, San Francisco has a 30-27 record and an overall money line of +354. The Giants are tough outs for opponents, leading the NL with 9.6 hits per road game. The Giants allow 3.8 runs per game, but have improved upon those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 2.5 runs per game during that span.
The Pirates lead the season series, 4-1. The Pirates have a 59-38 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Leake takes the mound. Cole (RHP) will be on the hill against the Giants, who have a 49-45 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.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Giants are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Pirates have an 11-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they are outhit, the Giants are 5-37. The Pirates have a 16-36 record when opponents outhit them.
Pittsburgh and San Francisco both rank near the bottom of the league in home runs. Pittsburgh sits at 22nd with 102 home runs this season and San Francisco ranks 21st with 103.
Pittsburgh and San Francisco both rank in the top five of the league in hits. Pittsburgh sits at fourth with 9.13 hits per game and San Francisco ranks second with 9.24.
Ranking 13th, Pittsburgh is in the top half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.720). San Francisco ranks in the top 10 at sixth with an OPS of .737.
The Giants are 30-40 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Pirates are 30-29 when they allow at least one homer.
