Saturday, April 8, 2017

PNC Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: R.A. Dickey vs. Chad Kuhl

The Atlanta Braves head to PNC Park on Saturday, April 8, 2017 to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. The starters are R.A. Dickey for the Braves and Chad Kuhl for the Pirates.

The opening line for this game has Atlanta at +131 and Pittsburgh at -141. The Braves have a 1-2-0 over/under record and a 1-2-0 run line mark. The Pirates are 0-2-0 against the run line and have a 0-2-0 over/under record.

Valuable Atlanta Braves Betting Trends

The Atlanta Braves are 1-2-0 against the over/under

The Atlanta Braves are 1-2-0 against the run line

Important Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 0-2-0 against the over/under

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 0-2-0 against the run line

Key Atlanta Braves Injuries

04/03/17 P Armando Rivero Shoulder 10-day DL (3/30)
04/03/17 P Daniel Winkler Elbow 10-day DL (3/30)
04/02/17 2B Micah Johnson Wrist 10-day DL (3/30)
04/01/17 1B Sean Rodriguez Shoulder 60-day DL
03/31/17 P Mauricio Cabrera Elbow 10-day DL (3/30)

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

04/07/17 C Chris Stewart Groin is downgraded to not expected to be in the starting lineup Friday vs. Atlanta Braves

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Braves have a 1-2 overall record this year. Starting pitcher R.A. Dickey had a 10-15 record with an earned run average of 4.46 and a WHIP of 1.37. He had 126 strikeouts over his 169.2 innings pitched and he gave up 169 hits last season. He allowed 9 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 5.03. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.95 and they gave up 537 base hits on the year. Teams hit .246 against the bullpen while being struck out 543 times and walking 256 times last season. As a team, Atlanta allowed 8.79 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.63 batters per nine innings. They were 24th in the league in team earned run average at 4.51. The Braves pitchers collectively gave up 1,414 base hits and 725 earned runs. They allowed 177 home runs last season and they allowed 1.1 homers per nine innings as a staff. Atlanta as a pitching staff walked 547 batters and struck out 1,227. They walked 3.4 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.6 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.36 and their FIP as a unit was 4.32.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Atlanta batted .255, good for 18th in the league while putting together a .249 average away from home. The Braves held a .384 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .321 which was good for 16th in baseball. They ranked 15th in baseball with 8.72 hits per game. Freddie Freeman is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .302 with an on-base percentage of .400. He had 178 hits last season along with 102 runs scored and 91 runs batted in. He struck out 171 times and walked 89 times. Nick Markakis hit .269 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .346. He totaled 161 hits while scoring 67 runs and he drove in 89. He walked 71 times and struck out on 101 occasions. The Braves had 1,404 hits, including 295 doubles and 122 home runs. They stole 75 bases and were thrown out stealing 34 times. Atlanta walked 502 times last season and they struck out 1,240 times as a unit. They left 1,161 men on base and had a team OPS of .705. They scored 4.03 runs per contest and scored a total of 649 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Pittsburgh has a 0-2 overall mark this season. With an earned run average of 4.20, Chad Kuhl had a 5-4 record and a 1.32 WHIP last season. He had 53 strikeouts over the 70.2 innings he pitched during which he gave up 73 hits. He allowed 9.3 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.95. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 3.57 and they gave up 558 base hits on the year. Teams hit .248 against the Pirates bullpen while being struck out 536 times and walking 232 times last season. As a team, Pittsburgh allowed 9.25 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.64 batters per nine innings. They were 18th in the league in team earned run average at 4.21. The Pirates pitchers as a team surrendered 1,491 base knocks and 679 earned runs last season. They gave up 180 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Pittsburgh as a staff walked 533 hitters and struck out 1,232. They gave up a walk 3.3 times per 9 innings while they struck out 7.6 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.40 while their FIP as a staff was 4.30.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .257, good for 12th in the league while putting together a .270 average at home. The Pirates held a .402 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .332 which was good for 4th in baseball. They ranked 12th in baseball with 8.8 hits per contest. Starling Marte comes into this matchup after batting .311 with an OBP of .362. He had 152 hits last year along with 71 runs scored and 46 RBI. He struck out 104 times and walked on 23 occasions. Andrew McCutchen hit .256 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .336. He collected 153 hits while scoring 81 runs and driving in 79. He earned a walk 69 times and punched out 143 times. The Pirates as a unit had 1,426 base hits, including 277 doubles and 153 homers. They had 110 stolen bases and were thrown out 45 times. Pittsburgh as a team walked 561 times last year and they struck out 1,334 times. They had 1,173 men left on base and had an OPS of .734. They scored 4.5 runs per game and totaled 729 runs last season.

Who will win tonight's Braves/Pirates MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Pirates -141

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