The Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers will begin a three-game series on Friday night in Los Angeles, with both teams in fine form.
The Pirates are 5-2 in their last seven overall after taking two of three from Detroit earlier this week, while the Dodgers are coming off a three-game sweep of Colorado.
With Friday's contest set for 10:10 pm ET, it’s time to break down the matchup and discuss the best bets to make.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers betting picks and predictions
Pittsburgh Pirates +1.5 (-115)
The Dodgers took care of the Rockies without much trouble, but things did not go well the last time they faced a decent team. Milwaukee went into Los Angeles at the end of last week and won three of four games. In fact, L.A. is a horrendous 2-11 in its last 13 games against opponents with winning records.
To be fair, the Pirates are not the Brewers – nor do they have a winning record (63-66). But they are certainly respectable, and they are playing fine baseball at the moment with three victories in their last four games and five in their last seven.
Bubba Chandler is taking the mound for the visitors on Friday. The 23-year-old righty is sporting a 2.16 ERA through three appearances in August. He also allowed only three earned runs in his last 10.1 innings in July.
Chandler is in very good form, the Dodgers’ bats are not doing anything special (at least not outside of Coors Field) and they are not guaranteed a full nine at-bats as the home team. All of those factors make a +1.5 spread with the Pirates quite intriguing.
Under 8.0 Total Runs (-105)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is toeing the rubber on Friday, and to say that is good news for the Dodgers would be an understatement. The reigning World Series MVP comes in with a 2.60 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in addition to a 136-to-34 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 145.1 innings. Over his past two starts, Yamamoto has surrendered only one run in 11.2 innings.
Pittsburgh’s current lineup is a combined 3-for-15 (.200) all time against the right-hander with zero extra-base hits.
Yamamoto, though, does not figure to get a ton of run support. Los Angeles brought out the bats during a three-game sweep at Colorado earlier this week, but that was at Coors Field. In more normal conditions, L.A.’s lineup has struggled since the all-star break. The Dodgers scored a grand total of 10 runs in a four-game series against the Brewers last week.
The Pirates are coming off back-to-back wins over Detroit, one of which produced a total of five runs before Wednesday’s series finale resulted in seven.
Oneil Cruz Over 0.5 hits (-127)
Oneil Cruz has hit safely in two straight games, going 2-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs during this stretch. He has recorded at least one hit in seven of his last 10 contests, which includes three multi-hit performances.
The 27-year-old has also walked a whopping 13 times in his last 11 games, so he is seeing the ball extremely well these days.
Cruz’s sample size against Yamamoto is very small, but the center fielder does have one hit in two at-bats in this matchup – which is another reason to be encouraged.
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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers odds
Pittsburgh Pirates | +205 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | -230 |
Run Line | LA Dodgers -1.5 |
Total | O/U 8.0 |
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers player props
Player Home Run odds
Brandon Lowe (PIT Pirates) | +450 |
Esmerlyn Valdez (PIT Pirates) | +475 |
Oneil Cruz (PIT Pirates) | +500 |
Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) | +225 |
Max Muncy (LA Dodgers) | +325 |
Freddie Freeman (LA Dodgers) | +425 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
