In the last of a three-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates (46-34) and the Cleveland Indians (46-34) at PNC Park, Gerrit Cole (11-3, 2.20 ERA) and Danny Salazar (7-3, 3.80 ERA) get the ball. The Pirates won the last game 1-0 and the series is currently tied 1-1. The game starts at 1:35 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jul. 5 and will air on STO and ROOT-PIT.
In his last start, Cole pitched 6.2 innings, giving up two runs and striking out six in a 5-4 loss to the Tigers. Andrew McCutchen (.297, 43 Rs, 10 HRs, 49 RBIs, 5 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday. The Indians were victorious over the Rays 6-2 the last time Salazar pitched. He went 7.2 innings, allowing one, striking out two and walking two.
Pittsburgh, a -138 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Cleveland. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at six runs. The Pirates have a winning record of 38-20 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +399. They come into the game with notable records of 7-5 as the favorite and 8-5 SU against the American League. They have been a terror on the base paths, ranking fourth in all of baseball with 61 steals. As for the Pittsburgh defense and pitching staff, teams routinely struggle to score runs against the Pirates, who allow only 3.4 runs per game.
Moving on to the away team, the Indians come into this game with a win percentage of .481 when playing as the underdog (13-14) and an overall money line of -1,199. Against NL opponents, they are 7-3 SU and have played well as the underdog with a 2-1 record. When it comes to scoring runs, the Indians haven’t performed as well against teams from the NL. During those games, they averaged three runs per game, below their 4.1 season average. Shifting to the pitching staff, they have some of the most overpowering arms in baseball with an AL-high 9.3 strikeouts per game.
The Pirates will take on a right-hander (Salazar) in this game and have a 36-28 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Indians will be the right-hander Cole. They sport a 26-23 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – PIT, O/U – Over
Notes
Pittsburgh earned its ninth shutout of the season in its last game. Cleveland has been shut out seven times this season.
The Indians are 2-2 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Pirates are 4-7 in such matchups.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Indians are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Pirates have a 9-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they outhit their opponents, the Indians are 31-6. The Pirates have a 34-5 record when outhitting opponents.
Pittsburgh and Cleveland both rank in the bottom half of the league in runs. Pittsburgh sits at 17th with 323 runs this season and Cleveland ranks 19th with 322.
Ranking 22nd, Pittsburgh is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 208 this season. Cleveland ranks in the top five at second with 289.
The Pirates are 26-16 when they hit at least one home run. The Indians perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 30-17 record.
