Arizona Diamondbacks vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 5/21/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Arizona Diamondbacks vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Sunday, May 21, 2023

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Arizona (-155) Pittsburgh (+135)

The Arizona Diamondbacks (25-20) are en route to PNC Park on Sunday where they will try to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates (24-20). The odds on this game have Arizona at -155 while Pittsburgh is at +135. The over/under comes in at 8. The pitchers who are expected to start are Merrill Kelly and Mitch Keller.

Arizona has a slugging rate of .436 and have been rung up 344 times, while drawing a walk on 141 occasions. They have accrued 219 runs batted in in addition to 408 hits on the season, and their batting average is sitting at .267. The Diamondbacks have tallied 92 doubles as a unit and have smacked 49 baseballs out of the park. They have notched a total of 230 runs while having a team on-base percentage of .331. As a squad, the Arizona Diamondbacks are notching 5.1 runs per game, which ranks them 6th in the league.

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They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.31 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.35. Diamondbacks pitchers have surrendered 56 home runs and also 224 total runs (23rd in the league). Arizona has relinquished 378 base knocks (8.5 per 9 innings) as well as 206 earned runs. The Diamondbacks have a team earned run average of 4.65 so far this season (22nd in MLB), and the staff has struck out 369 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 160 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 4.57 as a unit so far this year.

Diamondbacks relief pitchers have entered the game with runners on 49 times as well as having 43 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 22 holds over the course of the season (17th in MLB). The Diamondbacks relievers have a save percentage of 55.0% and has stepped onto the mound in 42 save situations. They have tallied 11 saves this season and have blown 9 out of their 20 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 75 runners on the season and 29.3% of them earned a run for their team. The Diamondbacks have dispatched 150 relievers to the mound so far this season.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have notched a total of 1,195 putouts on the campaign, as well as 433 assists and 16 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .990 which is 5th in professional baseball, and they have turned 36 double plays. The Diamondbacks have transformed 69.9% of baseballs in play into outs out of 3,585 innings, which has them sitting 12th in MLB.

Kelly has thrown 625 innings and is sitting with 549 strikeouts in his pro baseball career. His ERA is 3.87 (269 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.217. He has conceded 576 hits (8.3 hits per 9 innings) with 185 walks. Kelly (40-38 win-loss mark in his career) holds a FIP of 4.04 and he has gone up against 2,580 opposing hitters during his time in the majors.

Pittsburgh has recorded 42 long balls so far this season and 188 RBIs. They have put up 87 two-baggers, while walking 165 times as well as putting up 197 runs. The Pittsburgh Pirates have earned an on-base percentage of .326 as well as a team batting average of .246 on the campaign. The Pirates have a team SLG% of .405 and they have an average of 4.48 runs per outing (14th in the league). They have been rung up on 374 occasions (21st in MLB) and have tallied 359 hits.

The Pittsburgh pitching staff have surrendered 174 runs for the season while holding a team ERA of 3.65 (157 earned runs allowed). They have surrendered 39 homers and they yield 4.04 runs per 9 innings (5th in the league). The Pirates are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.320 and have a FIP of 3.91 as a staff this year. Their strikeout to walk ratio comes in at 8.80 (380 strikeouts against 155 free passes). They are sitting at 9th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 356.

Pittsburgh relief pitchers have an inherited score rate of 22.0% of 41 inherited runners. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 34 times in high leverage situations and also on 26 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 44 save situations, the Pirates have earned 25 holds and 5 blown saves. They are ranked 5th in the league holding a save rate of 72.2%, and they have dispatched 126 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond this season. Pittsburgh has called on bullpen pitchers to enter the game in 18 save chances and they have earned 13 saves.

Out of their 3,489 innings on the diamond, the Pirates hold a defensive efficiency of 68.8% (17th in professional baseball). The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 37 double plays and have a fielding rate of .983 (25th in the majors). The Pirates have accrued 358 assists, 27 errors and have 1,163 putouts for the season.

During his pro baseball career, Keller has allowed 418 hits while accumulating 380 K's in 386 frames. He has surrendered 198 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.490 and a FIP of 3.9. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.42 and he has gone up against 1,700 batters in his pro baseball career. Keller (17-30 record in his career) has earned a 4.62 earned run average and has given up 9.7 hits per nine innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Arizona (-155)

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