Thursday, March 23, 2017

JetBlue Park

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Probable Pitchers: Drew Hutchison vs. Eduardo Rodriguez

The Pittsburgh Pirates head JetBlue Park on Thursday, March 23, 2017 to take on the Boston Red Sox in a Spring Training game. The starters are Drew Hutchison for the Pirates and Eduardo Rodriguez for the Red Sox.

The opening line for this game has Pittsburgh at +120 and Boston at -140. The Pirates had a 89-69-4 over/under record and a 74-88-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 46% of the time. The Red Sox were 83-79-0 against the run line and had a 77-78-7 over/under record. They covered the spread 51% of the time.

Valuable Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Pirates were 89-69-4 against the over/under last season

The Pittsburgh Pirates were 74-88-0 against the run line last season

Important Boston Red Sox Betting Trends

The Boston Red Sox were 77-78-7 against the over/under last season

The Boston Red Sox were 83-79-0 against the run line last season

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

No key injuries to report

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Pirates are coming off a 78-83 record in 2016, including 40-41 on the road. Starting pitcher Drew Hutchison had a 1-0 record with an earned run average of 5.25 and a WHIP of 1.46. He had 22 strikeouts over his 24 innings pitched and he gave up 28 hits last season. He allowed 10.5 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 5.69. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.57 and they gave up 558 base hits on the year. Teams hit .248 against the 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 collectively gave up 1,491 base hits and 679 earned runs. They allowed 180 home runs last season and they allowed 1.1 homers per nine innings as a staff. Pittsburgh as a pitching staff walked 533 batters and struck out 1,232. They walked 3.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.6 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.40 and their FIP as a unit was 4.30.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Pittsburgh batted .257, good for 12th in the league while putting together a .245 average away from 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 game. Starling Marte is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .311 with an on-base percentage of .362. He had 152 hits last season along with 71 runs scored and 46 runs batted in. He struck out 104 times and walked 23 times. Andrew McCutchen hit .256 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .336. He totaled 153 hits while scoring 81 runs and he drove in 79. He walked 69 times and struck out on 143 occasions. The Pirates had 1,426 hits, including 277 doubles and 153 home runs. They stole 110 bases and were thrown out stealing 45 times. Pittsburgh walked 561 times last season and they struck out 1,334 times as a unit. They left 1,173 men on base and had a team OPS of .734. They scored 4.5 runs per contest and scored a total of 729 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Boston had a 47-34 home record and a 93-69 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 4.71, Eduardo Rodriguez had a 3-7 record and a 1.30 WHIP last season. He had 100 strikeouts over the 107 innings he pitched during which he gave up 99 hits. He allowed 8.3 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 4.43. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 3.56 and they gave up 411 base hits on the year. Teams hit .231 against the Red Sox bullpen while being struck out 507 times and walking 193 times last season. As a team, Boston allowed 8.38 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.51 batters per nine innings. They were 9th in the league in team earned run average at 4.00. The Red Sox pitchers as a team surrendered 1,341 base knocks and 640 earned runs last season. They gave up 176 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Boston as a staff walked 490 hitters and struck out 1,362. They gave up a walk 3.1 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.5 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.27 while their FIP as a staff was 4.00.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .282, good for 1st in the league while putting together a .300 average at home. The Red Sox held a .461 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .348 which was good for 1st in baseball. They ranked 1st in baseball with 9.86 hits per contest. Mookie Betts comes into this matchup after batting .318 with an OBP of .363. He had 214 hits last year along with 122 runs scored and 113 RBI. He struck out 80 times and walked on 49 occasions. Xander Bogaerts hit .294 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .356. He collected 192 hits while scoring 115 runs and driving in 89. He earned a walk 58 times and punched out 123 times. The Red Sox as a unit had 1,598 base hits, including 343 doubles and 208 homers. They had 83 stolen bases and were thrown out 24 times. Boston as a team walked 558 times last year and they struck out 1,160 times. They had 1,162 men left on base and had an OPS of .810. They scored 5.42 runs per game and totaled 878 runs last season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Red Sox -140

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