Cleveland Indians vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 6/18/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cleveland Indians vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Friday, June 18, 2021

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (-135) Pittsburgh (+110)

PNC Park is the venue where Chad Kuhl and the Pittsburgh Pirates (23-44, 5th in NL Central) will play the Cleveland Indians (37-28, 2nd in AL Central) on Friday. The line on this game has the Indians priced at -135 and the Pirates are at +110. The O/U opens at 8. The pitchers taking the mound are Jean Carlos Mejia and Chad Kuhl.

As a team, the Cleveland Indians are scoring 4.3 runs per game, which is 17th in baseball. They have notched a total of 276 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .297. The Indians have accumulated 96 doubles as a team and have knocked 73 balls out of the stadium. They have recorded 261 runs batted in in addition to 477 hits for the season, while their average at the plate is at .226. Cleveland has a slugging % of .386 and have struck out 535 times, while taking a walk on 192 occasions.

Indians pitchers have relinquished 78 home runs in addition to 277 runs in total (12th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 237 batters and their FIP sits at 4.08 as a team so far this year. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 2.69 and their pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.28. The Indians have an ERA of 4.09 so far this season (16th in the league), and they have struck out 637 batters.

The Indians have dispatched 209 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 76 base runners for the year with 28.9% of those runners crossed the plate. They have earned 20 saves so far this season and have missed out on 3 out of their 23 save opportunities. The Indians bullpen have recorded a save rate of 87.0% and has come into the game in 52 save situations. The bullpen have a total of 28 holds over the course of the season (24th in the league). Indians bullpen pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on 56 times in addition to having 62 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Cleveland Indians have accounted for 1,706 putouts on the year, as well as 553 assists and 39 errors. Their fielding rate is at .983 which has them sitting 16th in baseball, and they have turned 446 double plays. The Indians have converted 69.4% of balls hit into play into outs in their 5,118 innings on the diamond, which has them ranked 19th in MLB.

Mejia (1-1 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a FIP of 2.29 while he has gone up against 49 hitters in the major leagues. He has given up 10 hits (7.1 hits per nine innings) and has had 5 walks. His earned run average is 4.26 (6 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.184. Mejia has pitched in 12 innings and has earned 13 strikeouts so far in his MLB career.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have accumulated an on-base percentage of .297 and a team batting average of .228 on the season. They have struck out on 558 occasions (24th in MLB) and have 506 hits. Pittsburgh has knocked in 47 HRs for the season to go along with 213 runs batted in. The Pirates have a SLG% of .351 and they earn 3.39 runs per game (30th in MLB). They have notched 108 doubles, while walking 200 times and putting up 227 runs.

The Pirates have a team WHIP of 1.349 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.46 as a unit for the year. They rank 18th in the league as a staff in total hits given up with 541. The Pittsburgh pitching staff have surrendered 327 runs for the year while holding a team ERA of 4.80 (307 earned runs relinquished). Their K/BB ratio is 2.33 (549 strikeouts against 236 bases on balls). They have yielded 81 dingers and they surrender 5.11 runs per 9 innings (25th in MLB).

Pittsburgh has had bullpen pitchers enter the game in 12 save chances and they have converted 8 saves. They rank 9th in MLB holding a save percentage of 66.7%, and they have dispatched 231 relief pitchers onto the diamond on the campaign. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 52 times in high leverage situations in addition to 56 occasions with runners on. Pittsburgh relief pitchers have an inherited score rate of 27.0% out of 89 inherited base runners. Sitting with 40 save situations, the Pirates have earned 26 holds in addition to 4 blown saves.

In their 5,187 innings on the diamond, the Pirates hold a defensive efficiency of 69.7% (13th in professional baseball). The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 50 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .984 (9th in MLB). The Pirates have racked up 596 assists, 37 errors and are sitting with 1,729 putouts for the year.

So far in his career, Kuhl has allowed 382 base hits while earning 343 K's in 388 innings. He has allowed a total of 195 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.432 and a FIP of 4.6. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.97 and he has gone up against 1,690 opposing hitters during his pro baseball career. Kuhl (20-27 win-loss record in his career) is the owner of a 4.52 ERA while conceding 8.9 hits per nine innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cleveland (-135)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here