Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 8/21/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Friday, August 21, 2020

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: ATPT/FSWI

Odds/Point Spread: Brewers (-159) Pirates (+147)

PNC Park is the venue where Colin Moran and the Pittsburgh Pirates (4-16, 5th in NL Central) will play the Milwaukee Brewers (11-11, 2nd in NL Central) on Friday. The Brewers open this matchup at -159 while the Pirates are coming in at +147. The total is set at 8.5. The expected starting pitchers will be Adrian Houser and Chad Kuhl.

Key Milwaukee Brewers Injuries

8/13/2020 Ray Black RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
8/13/2020 Justin Grimm RP Finger Expected to be out until at least Aug 23

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

8/20/2020 Joe Musgrove SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 29
8/19/2020 Kyle Crick RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/19/2020 Mitch Keller SP Oblique Expected to be out until at least Sep 2
8/19/2020 Phillip Evans 3B Jaw Out for the season
8/18/2020 Yacksel Rios RP Shoulder 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
8/6/2020 Nick Burdi RP Elbow Out for the season
8/6/2020 Michael Feliz RP Forearm Out for the season
7/23/2020 Luke Maile C Finger Out for the season
6/30/2020 Kevin Kramer RF Hip Out for the season
6/30/2020 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Out for the season
2/13/2020 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Brewers have a 11-11 overall record this season. Houser has taken the mound for 149 frames and is sitting with 143 strikeouts during his career. His ERA is 3.56 (59 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.255. He has conceded 132 base knocks (8.0 hits per nine innings) and has 55 walks. Houser (7-8 win-loss mark in his career) holds a FIP of 4.03 while he has gone up against 617 hitters in the majors. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.09 and they have given up 72 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .175 against the bullpen and they've struck out 131 hitters and walked 39 batters. As a team, Milwaukee allows 7.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 10.8 batters per nine innings. They are 9th in the league in team earned run average at 4.02. The Brewers pitchers collectively have given up 166 base hits and 89 earned runs. They have allowed 28 home runs this season, ranking them 22nd in the league. Milwaukee as a pitching staff has walked 82 batters and struck out 239. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 10.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.24 and their FIP as a unit is 4.09.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Milwaukee is hitting .218, good for 27th in the league. The Brewers hold a .370 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .299, which is good for 28th in baseball. They rank 22nd in MLB with 7.4 hits per game. Orlando Arcia is hitting .275 with an on-base percentage of .327. He has 14 hits this season in 51 at bats with 8 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .412 and an OPS+ of 98. Christian Yelich is hitting .205 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .333. He has totaled 16 hits and he has driven in 14 men in 78 at bats. His OPS+ is 121 while his slugging percentage is at .500. The Brewers have 163 hits, including 30 doubles and 25 home runs. Milwaukee has walked 73 times so far this season and they have struck out 222 times as a unit. They have left 138 men on base and have a team OPS of .669. They score 4.18 runs per contest and have scored a total of 92 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Pittsburgh has a 4-16 overall mark this year. During his career, Kuhl has allowed 331 base hits while tallying 294 K's in 327 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 157 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.407 and a FIP of 4.3. He has a SO/W ratio of 2.28 and he has gone up against 1,408 batters so far in his pro baseball career. Kuhl (18-21 win-loss record in his career) holds a 4.32 ERA and has given up 9.1 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.96 and they have given up 95 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .220 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 111 batters and walked 56 opposing hitters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 8.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.5 batters per nine innings. They are 26th in the league in team earned run average at 5.51. The Pirates pitchers as a team have surrendered 170 base knocks and 110 earned runs this season. They have given up 29 home runs this year, which ranks 17th in Major League Baseball. Pittsburgh as a staff has walked 93 hitters and struck out 190 batters. They give up a walk 4.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.5 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.46 while their FIP as a staff is 4.91.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .211, good for 29th in the league. The Pirates hold a .332 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .271, which is good for 30th in baseball. They rank 26th in MLB with 7.1 hits per contest. Colin Moran comes into this matchup batting .214 with an OBP of .286. He has 15 hits this year along with 10 RBI in 70 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .486 with an OPS+ of 108. Josh Bell is hitting .197 this season and he has an OBP of .241. He has collected 15 hits in 76 at bats while driving in 10 runs. He has an OPS+ of 49 and a slugging percentage of .303. The Pirates as a unit have 142 base hits, including 23 doubles and 19 homers. Pittsburgh has walked 53 times this year and they have struck out on 175 occasions. They have had 105 men left on base and have an OPS of .603. They have scored 3.9 runs per game and totaled 78 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Brewers (-159)

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