Kyle Ryan (1-1, 4.56 ERA) and Francisco Liriano (4-6, 3.21 ERA) are on the hill in the last of a three-game series between the Detroit Tigers (39-38) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (44-33) at Comerica Park. The Pirates won the last game 9-3 and Pittsburgh leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 1:08 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jul. 2 and can be seen on ROOT-PIT, FSN-DET and MLB.
Ryan pitched 0.2 inning in his most recent start, surrendering two runs and striking out one in an 8-2 defeat to the Indians. J.D. Martinez (.281, 45 Rs, 20 HRs, 48 RBIs, 2 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 3 for 4. Liriano is 5-10 with a 5.59 ERA against the Tigers in his career. He is up against a good Detroit offense that’s batting .275. Starling Marte (.285, 43 Rs, 13 HRs, 47 RBIs, 15 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Pirates, going 4 for 5 yesterday with one run, one home run, and one RBI.
Pittsburgh takes on Detroit as a -120 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Tigers have an overall money line of -109 and a record as the underdog of 15-18. Against the NL, they have a 4-5 record when they were the underdog and 7-8 SU. The Tigers have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 5.5 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.4 runs per game. The Tigers lead the AL in hits with a phenomenal 9.6 per game. Detroit’s pitching staff has been doing poorly against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, allowing an average of 6.2 runs per game, well above its season average of 4.4.
Over in the other dugout, Pittsburgh is coming in with an overall money line of +316 and an impressive record of 37-19 as the favorite. Pittsburgh has put in a great performance against American League opponents, coming in with a nice record SU ({betdsi.at.al.su_record}) and as the favorite (6-4). The Pirates are tough outs for opponents, ranking fifth in the NL with 8.9 hits per game. The Pirates are an excellent base stealing team with 58 stolen bases, ranking fourth in the MLB. The Pirates allow 3.4 runs per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 4.7 runs per game during that span.
The Pirates lead the season series, 3-2. The Tigers have an 11-7 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Liriano takes the mound. Ryan (RHP) will be on the hill against the Pirates, who have a 35-27 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – DET, O/U – Over
Notes
Pittsburgh has won 42% (13-18) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Detroit has won 53% (17-15) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Tigers are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Pirates have a 10-18 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
It looks like the Pirates have a slight leg up on the Tigers, as the Pirates have won their last two games while the Tigers have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Tigers are 33-10. The Pirates have a 32-5 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 18th, Pittsburgh sits in the bottom half of the league in runs, scoring 312 this season. Detroit ranks in the top half at 12th with 334.
Ranking 22nd, Pittsburgh is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 198 this season. Detroit ranks in the top half at 14th with 228.
When the Tigers hit at least one home run, they are 29-15, well-matched with the Pirates who are 25-15 when hitting one or more homers.
