In the first of a three-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates (2-4) and the Detroit Tigers (2-4) at PNC Park, Gerrit Cole (0-0, 5.40 ERA) and Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) take the mound. The Tigers enter this series on a six-game winning streak. The game starts at 1:35 p.m. ET on Monday, Apr. 13 and will air on FSN-DET and ROOT-PIT.
In his last start, Cole pitched 5.0 innings, giving up three runs, striking out six and walking two in a 5-4 loss to the Reds. Andrew McCutchen (.190 ) continued his strong start to the season yesterday, going 2 for 5 with two runs, one home run, and four RBIs. In his pitching opportunities against the Pirates, Sanchez is 2-4 with a 3.16 ERA, 46 strikeouts and nine walks. Miguel Cabrera (.520 ) has been doing well to start the season for the Tigers, going 4 for 4 yesterday with three runs, two home runs, and four RBIs.
Pittsburgh is a small -113 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is seven runs.
Moving on to the away team, the Tigers are coming into the game in great standing. They are unbeaten so far this season as the underdog (2-0) and have an overall money line of +510. The Tigers are the number one overall scoring offense in the AL, averaging 7.8 runs per game so far. The top hitting team in the AL are the Tigers, who average 13.4 hits per game. Detroit is a terror on the base paths, with an MLB-best 10 stolen bases. Shifting to the pitching staff, they have the lowest ERA in the AL at 1.40. They have a WHIP of 1.02, fifth best in the MLB.
Predictions: SU Winner – DET, O/U – Over
Notes
The Pirates managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Tigers who are coming in with a 4-0 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
Pittsburgh ranks in the top 10 of the league at seventh when it comes to home runs, hitting six this season. Detroit ranks in the top five at second with eight.
Detroit tops the league in hits with 13.40 per game this season. Pittsburgh ranks in the top half at 11th with 6.60.
Ranking first in on-base plus slugging percentage, Detroit has an OPS of .983 this season. Pittsburgh ranks 15th with an OPS of .657.
