Thursday, September 11, 2014

Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Thursday night, Francisco Liriano (4 -10, 3.74 ERA) will take his turn for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they face A.J. Burnett (8 -15, 4.29 ERA) and the Philadelphia Phillies.  Liriano makes his 26th start as Burnett makes his 31st.

Francisco Liriano picked up his 1st victory in over a month the last time he took the hill.  Liriano hurled 6 shutout innings and allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9.  Some of Liriano’s recent starts were great, but poor run support led to him either taking the loss or missing the decision.  In his last 10 starts, he is just 3 – 3.  Last season, Liriano was 16 – 8 with a 3.02 ERA in 26 starts.

Liriano didn’t face the Phillies in 2013 and this will be his 1st start against them this season.  He has only faced 5 Phillies before and he will have to watch out for Marlon Byrd.  Byrd is 5 of 7 against Liriano with 4 RBIs.

A.J Burnett turned in an impressive outing his last time out and it earned him the win.  In 7 innings of work, Burnett surrendered just a run on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 4. It’s been a long rough season for the veteran righty with wins few and far between.  He is just 2 - 7 in his last 10 outings.  In 2013, Burnett was 10 - 11 with a 3.30 ERA in 30 starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This will be Burnett’s 2nd start of the season against his former team. In the 1st start, he took the loss after allowing 3 runs and 5 hits in 7 innings of work.              

Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

Pittsburgh Pirates are 66-70-8 against the Over/Under

Run Differential for Pittsburgh Pirates is 0.2

Philadelphia Phillies Betting Trends

Philadelphia Phillies are 74-59-11 against the Over/Under

Run differential for Philadelphia Phillies is -0.4

Injuries to Watch

Pittsburgh Pirates

08/18/14 P Charlie Morton Hernia 15-day DL (8/16)
08/16/14 P Stolmy Pimentel Ankle 15-day DL (8/14)

Philadelphia Phillies

09/09/14 SS Jimmy Rollins Hamstring expected to miss 7-10 days
09/05/14 P Mario Hollands Shoulder 60-day DL (9/4)
08/01/14 P Cliff Lee Elbow 15-day DL (7/31), out for season
06/20/14 3B Reid Brignac Ankle 15-day DL (6/20)

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh

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