Pittsburgh Pirates vs Milwaukee Brewers Prediction, 8/28/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Milwaukee Brewers

Date: Friday, August 28, 2020

Location: Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI

TV: ATPT/FSWI

Odds/Point Spread: Pirates (+130) Brewers (-140)

Bryan Reynolds and the Pittsburgh Pirates (7-19, 5th in NL Central) travel to Miller Park on Friday where they'll take on the Milwaukee Brewers (13-15, 3rd in NL Central). The Pirates open this matchup at +130 while the Brewers are coming in at -140. The O/U opens at 9.5. The starting pitchers will be Derek Holland and Corbin Burnes.

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

8/27/2020 Keone Kela RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
8/27/2020 Colin Moran DH Concussion Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/26/2020 Kyle Crick RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 27
8/26/2020 Joe Musgrove SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/25/2020 Yacksel Rios RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 23
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
8/11/2020 Clay Holmes RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
8/6/2020 Michael Feliz RP Forearm Out for the season
8/6/2020 Nick Burdi RP Elbow Out for the season
7/23/2020 Luke Maile C Finger Out for the season
6/30/2020 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Out for the season
6/30/2020 Kevin Kramer RF Hip Out for the season
2/13/2020 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Out for the season

Key Milwaukee Brewers Injuries

8/24/2020 Justin Grimm RP Finger Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/20/2020 Corey Knebel RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 30
8/13/2020 Ray Black RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 4

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Pirates have a 7-19 overall record this season. Holland (79-79 career win-loss mark) is the owner of a FIP of 4.66 while he has gone up against 6,012 hitters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 4.57 (710 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.372. He has surrendered 1,413 hits (9.1 hits per nine innings) and has had 507 free passes. Holland has taken the mound for 1,399 innings and has earned 1,168 punchouts during his pro baseball career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.31 and they have given up 112 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .209 against the bullpen and they've struck out 132 hitters and walked 67 batters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 8.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 26th in the league in team earned run average at 5.24. The Pirates pitchers collectively have given up 217 base hits and 135 earned runs. They have allowed 38 home runs this season, ranking them 17th in the league. Pittsburgh as a pitching staff has walked 119 batters and struck out 231. They have walked 4.6 men per 9 innings while striking out 9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.45 and their FIP as a unit is 5.07.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Pittsburgh is hitting .220, good for 26th in the league. The Pirates hold a .346 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .276, which is good for 30th in baseball. They rank 23rd in MLB with 7.4 hits per game. Bryan Reynolds is hitting .205 with an on-base percentage of .293. He has 18 hits this season in 88 at bats with 7 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .364 and an OPS+ of 79. Josh Bell is hitting .189 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .233. He has totaled 18 hits and he has driven in 10 men in 95 at bats. His OPS+ is 39 while his slugging percentage is at .274. The Pirates have 192 hits, including 31 doubles and 25 home runs. Pittsburgh has walked 65 times so far this season and they have struck out 237 times as a unit. They have left 137 men on base and have a team OPS of .623. They score 4.04 runs per contest and have scored a total of 105 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Milwaukee has a 13-15 overall mark this year. So far in his career, Burnes has surrendered 112 base knocks while he has accumulated 141 strikeouts in 113 innings. He has given up a total of 69 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.406 and a FIP of 4.6. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.00 and he has faced 496 hitters in his MLB career. Burnes (8-5 career mark) has earned a 5.49 earned run average while allowing 8.9 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.97 and they have given up 93 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .189 against the Brewers bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 157 batters and walked 46 opposing hitters. As a team, Milwaukee allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 10.6 batters per nine innings. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 4.4. The Brewers pitchers as a team have surrendered 225 base knocks and 122 earned runs this season. They have given up 36 home runs this year, which ranks 22nd in Major League Baseball. Milwaukee as a staff has walked 96 hitters and struck out 293 batters. They give up a walk 3.5 times per 9 innings while they strike out 10.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.29 while their FIP as a staff is 4.09.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .213, good for 28th in the league. The Brewers hold a .371 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .297, which is good for 28th in baseball. They rank 27th in MLB with 7.1 hits per contest. Keston Hiura comes into this matchup batting .243 with an OBP of .309. He has 27 hits this year along with 16 RBI in 111 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .450 with an OPS+ of 102. Orlando Arcia is hitting .250 this season and he has an OBP of .329. He has collected 17 hits in 68 at bats while driving in 9 runs. He has an OPS+ of 85 and a slugging percentage of .353. The Brewers as a unit have 199 base hits, including 40 doubles and 33 homers. Milwaukee has walked 94 times this year and they have struck out on 277 occasions. They have had 175 men left on base and have an OPS of .668. They have scored 3.96 runs per game and totaled 111 runs this season.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Pirates (+130)

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