In the last of a four-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates (72-48) and the San Francisco Giants (66-56) at PNC Park, Francisco Liriano (8-6, 3.35 ERA) and Ryan Vogelsong (9-8, 3.93 ERA) get the ball. The Pirates won the last game 3-2 and Pittsburgh leads the series 2-1. The game starts at 8:08 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 23 and will air on ESPN.
In his most recent outing, Liriano pitched 7.0 innings, giving up five runs, striking out five and walking three in a 9-8 loss to the Diamondbacks. Jung Ho Kang (.290, 49 Rs, 12 HRs, 45 RBIs, 5 SBs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 3 with two runs, two home runs, and two RBIs. The Giants were victorious the last time Vogelsong pitched. He pitched well, going 6.0 innings, allowing zero runs, striking out five and walking one in a 2-0 victory over the Cardinals. Brandon Belt (.275, 57 Rs, 17 HRs, 59 RBIs, 8 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday.
Pittsburgh is a -175 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Pirates perform well as a favorite with a 56-27 record and have an overall money line of +1,545. They are 3-1 as the favorite over their last 10 games.
On the other side, the Giants have a record of 30-27 when they are the underdog and are +454 overall with the money line. The top road hitting team in the NL are the Giants, who average 9.6 hits in games away from home. San Francisco’s pitching staff has allowed an average of 2.8 runs per game during the last 10 games, lower than their season average of 3.8.
The Pirates have gotten the best of the Giants in head-to-head matchups this season, going 5-1. The Pirates will take on a right-hander (Vogelsong) in this game and have a 59-38 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Giants will be the left-hander Liriano. They sport a 17-11 record against southpaws.
Predictions: SU Winner – Pit, O/U – Over
Notes
Pittsburgh earned its 11th shutout of the season in its last game. San Francisco has been shut out 11 times this season.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Pirates are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Giants have a 16-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they are outhit, the Giants are 5-37. The Pirates have a 16-37 record when opponents outhit them.
Both falling near the bottom of the league based on total home runs this season, Pittsburgh ranks 22nd with 102 homers and San Francisco is 21st with 105.
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 9.28.
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 .740.
When the Giants allow at least one home run, they are 30-40. When the Pirates allow one or more homers, they have a 30-30 record.
