MLB Betting – Pirates vs Braves Preview & Pick
Whoa, daddy! The Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves haven’t played a meaningful game against each other since the 1992 NLCS.
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Bet On Baseball – White Sox vs Indians Gambling Prediction
Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Venue: Turner Field, Atlanta, GA
Broadcast: ROOT, SPSO
Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves Betting Lines from JustBet.com
Money Line: Braves -171
Over/Under: 7
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Pittsburgh Pirates (53-47 through July 25)
Paul Maholm (6-10, 3.26)
Even if Carlos “don’t trade me to Pittsburgh” Beltran disagrees, the Pirates are playing important baseball now.
Through Monday’s action, they still held a half-game lead over St. Louis in the National League Central.
While the Pirates remain offensively challenged – enough to recall Pedro Alvarez from Triple-A – their pitching continues to surprise. Paul Maholm has been one of those surprises. While his strikeout rate leaves plenty to be desired and his walk rate is up, opponents are still having a tough time hitting his stuff.
His .244 opponents’ average is a massive improvement over his .303 mark in 2010 and .290 in 2009.
Maholm has always handled the Braves well, posting a 1.64 ERA over five starts. However, it’s worth noting that he has just one win in nine road starts this season.
Atlanta Braves (59-44 through July 25)
Jair Jurrjens (12-3, 2.44)
The Atlanta Braves are gearing up for the playoff stretch run and rounding into form…sort of. Despite his awful season, Dan Uggla has 18 homers and a 15-game hit streak. Brian McCann has been baseball’s top offensive catcher this season. Tommy Hanson continues to mow down hitters. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
But not everything is going right in Hotlanta. Jason Heyward still hasn’t found himself, batting .182 since the All-Star break. And Jair Jurrjens’ phenomenal season has gone off the rails over his last two starts. He’s lasted a combined 11 innings and allowed 10 earned runs, watching his ERA jump from 1.87 to 2.44.
MLB Trends
Under is 10-4-1 in PIT last 15 road games.
Under is 5-2-1 in PIT last 8 overall.
Under is 5-2-1 in PIT last 8 on grass.
Over is 5-1-2 in ATL last 8 home games.
ATL are 13-3 in their last 16 home games.
Under is 6-2-1 in ATL last 9 Wed. games.
PIT are 12-32 in the last 44 meetings in Atlanta.
Under is 35-15-3 in the last 53 meetings.
MLB Free pick:
I’m legitimately worried about Jair Jurrjens, simply because he’s pitched so far over his head this year and should continue coming back to Earth.
However, I still think Atlanta can handle Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Jurrjens loves home cooking, going 7-1 with a 2.52 ERA over nine starts at Turner Field this season.
Coupling that stat with Maholm’s road struggles, an Atlanta win makes sense, even if Jurrjens doesn’t throw a gem.
Pirates vs Braves prediction: Braves 5, Pirates 4
