Cleveland Indians vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 8/20/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cleveland Indians vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2020

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: ATPT/STOh

Odds/Point Spread: Indians (-200) Pirates (+184)

PNC Park is the site where Josh Bell and the Pittsburgh Pirates (4-15, 5th in NL Central) will take on the Cleveland Indians (14-9, 2nd in AL Central) on Thursday. The Pirates open this matchup at +184 while the Indians are coming in at -200. The over/under opens at 7.5. The starting pitchers are Shane Bieber and Trevor Williams.

Key Cleveland Indians Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

8/18/2020 Kyle Crick RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/18/2020 Yacksel Rios RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/11/2020 Mitch Keller SP Oblique Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/11/2020 Joe Musgrove SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/11/2020 Clay Holmes RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
8/9/2020 Phillip Evans 3B Jaw Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
8/6/2020 Michael Feliz RP Forearm Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Indians have a 14-9 overall record this season. Bieber has pitched in 363 innings and is sitting with 431 K's thus far in his career. His ERA is 3.49 (141 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.112. He has surrendered 335 base hits (8.3 hits per nine innings) and has had 69 walks. Bieber (30-13 career mark) has earned a FIP of 3.19 while he has gone up against 1,470 opposing batters in the majors. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.63 and they have given up 47 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .170 against the bullpen and they've struck out 83 hitters and walked 21 batters. As a team, Cleveland allows 6.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 10.7 batters per nine innings. They are 2nd in the league in team earned run average at 2.68. The Indians pitchers collectively have given up 151 base hits and 61 earned runs. They have allowed 24 home runs this season, ranking them 26th in the league. Cleveland as a pitching staff has walked 57 batters and struck out 244. They have walked 2.5 men per 9 innings while striking out 10.7 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.02 and their FIP as a unit is 3.30.

Related: How to Bet Parlays

Hitting Statistics

As a team Cleveland is hitting .202, good for 30th in the league. The Indians hold a .328 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .309, which is good for 22nd in baseball. They rank 30th in MLB with 6.4 hits per game. Carlos Santana is hitting .194 with an on-base percentage of .414. He has 14 hits this season in 72 at bats with 9 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .306 and an OPS+ of 102. Jose Ramirez is hitting .264 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .363. He has totaled 23 hits and he has driven in 18 men in 87 at bats. His OPS+ is 136 while his slugging percentage is at .517. The Indians have 148 hits, including 26 doubles and 21 home runs. Cleveland has walked 101 times so far this season and they have struck out 201 times as a unit. They have left 154 men on base and have a team OPS of .638. They score 3.87 runs per contest and have scored a total of 89 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Pittsburgh has a 4-15 overall mark this year. So far in his career, Williams has allowed 491 hits and he has 385 K's in 499 innings pitched. He has given up 234 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.308 and having a FIP of 4.4. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.38 and he has gone up against 2,126 batters in his MLB career. Williams (30-32 career win-loss record) holds a 4.22 ERA while allowing 8.9 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.62 and they have given up 92 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .225 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 103 batters and walked 49 opposing hitters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 8.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.4 batters per nine innings. They are 25th in the league in team earned run average at 5.48. The Pirates pitchers as a team have surrendered 165 base knocks and 104 earned runs this season. They have given up 28 home runs this year, which ranks 18th in Major League Baseball. Pittsburgh as a staff has walked 85 hitters and struck out 179 batters. They give up a walk 4.5 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.47 while their FIP as a staff is 4.90.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .213, good for 29th in the league. The Pirates hold a .339 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .276, which is good for 30th in baseball. They rank 25th in MLB with 7.2 hits per contest. Josh Bell comes into this matchup batting .205 with an OBP of .253. He has 15 hits this year along with 9 RBI in 73 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .315 with an OPS+ of 56. Colin Moran is hitting .227 this season and he has an OBP of .301. He has collected 15 hits in 66 at bats while driving in 10 runs. He has an OPS+ of 119 and a slugging percentage of .515. The Pirates as a unit have 137 base hits, including 22 doubles and 19 homers. Pittsburgh has walked 53 times this year and they have struck out on 169 occasions. They have had 102 men left on base and have an OPS of .614. They have scored 4.05 runs per game and totaled 77 runs this season.

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

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take the Pirates (+184) and over 7.5 runs

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