Saturday, May 17, 4:05 PM on FS1, ROOT, YES

Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

Pittsburgh Pirates - Morton, C (0-5) vs. New York Yankees - Kuroda, H (2-3)

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Saturday afternoon,   the Pittsburgh Pirates will take the field behind Charlie Morton as they square off against the New York Yankees and Hiroki Kuroda.  It will be the 9th starts of the season for both pitchers.

Charlie Morton comes into this one with after taking another loss in his last start that dropped his record to 0 - 5 with an ERA of 3.22.  Morton went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs on 7 hits with a walk and 3 strikeouts.   Without a win so far, Morton has already lost more games than he did in 2013 when he went 7 – 4 with a 3.26 ERA in 20 starts.

Last season, Morton didn’t face the Yankees and in his career, he has only faced 5 New York hitters.  But Morton has had trouble against Alfonso Soriano.  Soriano is 3 of 12 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs against the right-hander.

Hiroki Kuroda comes into this start after a second straight no decision that left his record at 2 – 3 with an ERA of 4.62.  In his last start, Kuroda gave up 4 runs on 7 hits (including 2 homers) without issuing a walk while striking out 3.  Last season, Kuroda went 11 - 13 with a 3.31 ERA in 32 starts.

In 2013, Kuroda didn’t face the Pirates but he has some experience against some of their hitters.  Against 7 of the Pirates, Kuroda has held them to a .234 average with a homer and 2 RBIs in 47 at-bats.    

Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

Pittsburgh Pirates are 17-18-4 against the Over/Under

Run Differential for Pittsburgh Pirates is -0.3

New York Yankees Betting Trends

New York Yankees are 20-19-0 against the Over/Under

Run differential for New York Yankees is -0.4

Injuries to Watch

Pittsburgh Pirates

05/15/14 LF Starling Marte Back questionable
05/04/14 P Stolmy Pimentel Shoulder 15-day DL (5/2)
04/26/14 P Jason Grilli Oblique 15-day DL (4/21)
04/26/14 C Russell Martin Hamstring 15-day DL (4/26)

New York Yankees

05/14/14 RF Carlos Beltran Elbow questionable
05/14/14 RF Ichiro Suzuki Back questionable
05/13/14 P Shawn Kelley Back 15-day DL (5/7)
05/11/14 P CC Sabathia Knee 15-day DL (5/11)
05/06/14 P Michael Pineda Shoulder 15-day DL (4/24)
05/01/14 P Bruce Billings Forearm 15-day DL (4/26)
04/20/14 P Ivan Nova Elbow 60-day DL (4/20); out for season
04/15/14 C Francisco Cervelli Hamstring 60-day DL (4/13)

Tony's Pick: Take New York

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