Gerrit Cole (7-2, 2.11 ERA) is on the hill for the Pittsburgh Pirates (26-24) as they square off against Ryan Vogelsong (4-2, 4.24 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants (30-22) in the first of a three-game series at AT&T Park. Action begins at 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Jun. 1 and can be seen on ROOT-PIT and CSN-BAY.
Vogelsong is 2-3 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 33 strikeouts against the Pirates. Brandon Belt (.306, 25 Rs, 7 HRs, 22 RBIs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 3 with one run, one home run, and one RBI. Cole is 2-0 with a 3.14 ERA when pitching against the Giants. He is up against a good San Francisco offense which is hitting .272 this season. Andrew McCutchen (.275, 28 Rs, 7 HRs, 30 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday.
Pittsburgh takes on San Francisco as a -120 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at six runs. The Giants have recorded an overall money line of +574 and have shown high-level performance as an underdog this season with a record of 16-8. San Francisco is undefeated as the underdog (3-0) over its last ten and has a record of 6-4 SU. Opposing offenses that come to AT&T Park have been stifled by the Giants, who have a team ERA of only 2.80 at home. The Giants are the fifth-best team in the NL at limiting walks to their opponents, allowing only 2.8 walks per game so far this season.
Over in the other dugout, in contrast to a worrisome overall money line (-56), Pittsburgh has an impressive 21-13 record when playing as the favorite. They played solid baseball as the favorite over their last 10 games with a 7-1 record, and an 8-2 record SU. Offensively, the Pirates have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 4.2 runs per game by averaging 5.6 during that stretch. Pittsburgh’s pitching staff has set the standard for its league, with an NL-low 2.77 ERA on the road.
The Giants have a 22-19 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Cole takes the mound. Vogelsong (RHP) will be on the hill against the Pirates, who have a 23-19 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – SF, O/U – Over
Notes
Pittsburgh has won 43% (9-12) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, San Francisco has won 50% (7-7) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Giants are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Pirates have a 12-16 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Giants are 3-13. The Pirates have a 4-15 record when opponents outhit them.
San Francisco ranks near the bottom of the league at 21st when it comes to home runs, hitting 42 this season. Pittsburgh ranks in the bottom half at 20th with 43.
Ranking sixth, Pittsburgh is in the top 10 of the league in hits, notching 8.67 per game. San Francisco ranks in the top five at second with 9.47.
Ranking 20th, Pittsburgh is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.695). San Francisco ranks in the top 10 at sixth with an OPS of .740.
The Pirates are 8-16 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Giants are 14-16 when they allow at least one homer.
