Cleveland Guardians vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 4/19/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cleveland Guardians vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (-130) Pittsburgh (+110)

The Pittsburgh Pirates (7-12) will try to beat the Cleveland Guardians (9-8) at PNC Park on Saturday. The moneyline on this matchup has Cleveland at -130 and Pittsburgh is at +110. The betting total comes in at 8. The pitchers taking the mound will be Ben Lively and Paul Skenes.

The Guardians have compiled 17 two-baggers as a unit and have smacked 20 baseballs out of the stadium. Cleveland has a slugging rate of .379 and have been rung up 138 times, while drawing a walk on 60 occasions. As a squad, the Cleveland Guardians are knocking in 3.9 runs per outing, which has them at 22nd in baseball. They have tallied 62 RBI's and 124 hits so far this year, while their team batting average comes in at .229. They have a total of 66 runs and hold an on-base percentage of .308.

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The Guardians have compiled a team ERA of 3.92 for the year (14th in the league), and their staff has struck out 141 batters. Guardians pitchers have given up 20 home runs and also 73 runs in total (12th in MLB). They have walked 61 hitters and their FIP comes in at 4.21 as a squad on the campaign. Cleveland has conceded 137 hits (8.4 per 9 innings) as well as 64 earned runs. They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.31 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.35.

Guardians pitchers have gone to the mound with players on base 16 times and also have had 14 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have recorded 16 holds this year (5th in baseball). The Guardians bullpen have earned a save rate of 60.0% and has entered the game in 21 save situations. They have compiled 3 saves on the year and have blown 2 of their 5 chances to get a save. The relievers have inherited 23 runners on the year and 17.4% of them earned a run for their team. The Guardians have dispatched 59 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year.

The Cincinnati Reds have 441 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 122 assists and 11 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .981 which puts them in 25th in pro baseball, and they have turned 15 double plays. The Guardians have converted 69.1% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 1,323 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting at 23rd in the majors.

Lively has taken the ball for 379 innings and is sitting with 293 strikeouts so far in his MLB career. His earned run average is 4.56 (192 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.342. He has surrendered 389 hits (9.2 hits per 9 innings) and has had 120 walks. Lively (21-29 record in his career) holds a FIP of 4.49 and he has gone up against 1,619 batters during his time in the majors.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have compiled a team OBP of .283 and a team batting average of .198 this season. They have struck out on 173 occasions (5th in MLB) and have a total of 123 base knocks. Pittsburgh has 12 home runs so far this year to go along with 65 runs batted in. The Pirates hold a slugging percentage of .302 and they are scoring 3.47 runs per outing (25th in baseball). They have hit 21 doubles, while taking a walk 68 times and putting up 66 runs.

The Pirates hold a team WHIP of 1.226 in addition to having a FIP of 3.41 as a squad for the season. They rank 21st in MLB as a staff in total hits conceded with 147. The Pittsburgh pitching staff have relinquished 85 runs on the campaign while holding a team ERA of 4.03 (77 earned runs conceded). They have earned a K/BB ratio of 7.90 (151 strikeouts against 64 bases on balls). They have conceded 11 long balls and they relinquish 4.45 runs per 9 innings (18th in baseball).

Pittsburgh relievers hold an inherited score rate of 28.6% of 28 inherited runners. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 25 times in high leverage situations and also on 18 occasions with runners on base. Sitting with 18 save situations, the Pirates have 11 holds in addition to 4 blown saves. They rank 26th in the league holding a save rate of 42.9%, and they have dispatched 63 bullpen pitchers onto the field so far this season. Pittsburgh has called on relievers to enter the contest in 7 save opportunities and they have tallied 3 saves.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten 16 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .976 (28th in baseball). The Pirates have racked up 174 assists, 17 errors and have notched a total of 517 putouts on the season. In 1,551 innings on the diamond, the Pirates are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 69.9% (19th in pro baseball).

In his pro baseball career, Skenes has given up 109 hits while he has accumulated 196 punch outs in 157 innings. He has given up 37 ER's while earning a WHIP of 0.917 and having a FIP of 2.1. His strikeout to walk ratio is 5.60 and he has gone up against 607 hitters so far in his MLB career. Skenes (13-4 record in his career) has earned a 2.12 ERA and has allowed 6.2 hits per nine innings.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+110)

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