Wednesday's matchup between the Pirates and Padres is set to get started at 4:10 PM ET from PETCO Park in San Diego, CA. The Padres are the heavy favorites on the money line, with their odds sitting at -136 compared to the Pirates, who are +116. The over/under line is currently 8.5 runs.
Pittsburgh will be looking to snap a nine-game losing streak, as they are 56-63 and 5th in the NL Central. Martín Pérez will be on the mound for the Padres, who are 68-53 and 3rd in the NL West. SN PT will be televising Wednesday's game.
Pittsburgh vs. San Diego Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Pirates at Padres
- Where: PETCO Park San Diego
- Date: Wednesday, August 14th
- Betting Odds SD -136 | PIT +116 O/U 8.5
Pirates vs Padres Last Game Recap
San Diego cruised to a 3-0 win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. The Padres had a huge 1st inning, scoring all three of their runs, and the Pirates could never get on the board. Heading into the game, the Padres were favored at -254 on the money line.
Michael King started for the Padres and picked up the win, going six innings and not giving up a run. He finished the game with 10 strikeouts but didn't issue a walk. Luis L. Ortiz only went five innings for the Pirates, giving up one run on three hits.
David Peralta was the only player in the game to homer, as he went 2/3 with three RBIs. Manny Machado also had a two-hit game and drove in two runs for the Padres' offense.
Pirates Preview
As the underdog, the Pirates have a 32-42 record this season, while they are 24-21 as the favorite. Their overall series record is 16-17-5, and they have lost three straight series. Pittsburgh's run line record as the underdog is 50-24, and their overall run line record is 67-52.
Pittsburgh's games this season have averaged 8.5 runs per game, and their over/under record with the line set at 8.5 runs is 24-17. The Pirates are 29-32 on the road and are currently on a nine-game losing streak heading into today's game against the Padres.
Pittsburgh is sending Mitch Keller to the mound today vs. the Padres, and he comes in with a record of 10-6 and an ERA of 3.56. Keller's WHIP for the season is currently 1.23. In his 23 starts, he has turned in 12 quality starts and is coming off a rough outing vs. the Dodgers, where he gave up seven earned runs in four innings of work. Keller has allowed at least one homer in each of his last three outings. Before this rough stretch, he had gone four straight starts without giving up a homer.
Andrew McCutchen has been swinging a hot bat of late for the Pirates, going 7/20 in his last five games with three homers and eight RBIs. This has helped him extend his hitting streak to five games. Bryan Reynolds is also on a solid stretch, batting .278 in his last eight games. For the season, Reynolds is hitting .288 and leads the Pirates with 69 RBIs.
As a team, the Pirates are 22nd in scoring at 4.2 runs per game, and they are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and slugging percentage. Overall, they are batting just .235. Pittsburgh's offense has been especially bad at home, averaging only 4.1 runs per game.
Padres Preview
San Diego has been on a tear, winning 9 of their last 10 games, which is the best record in the NL. They are 3rd in the NL West with a 68-53 overall record, 3.5 games behind the Dodgers.
Padres games have averaged 9.0 runs per game this season, and the over has hit in 16 of 30 games with an O/U line of 8.5 runs. Their run line record is 63-58, and they've been profitable on the run line as underdogs, going 33-15.
Martín Pérez gets the start for the Padres today as he faces off against the Pirates at home. So far this season, he has made 18 starts and has a record of 2-5 with an ERA of 4.78. Looking at his overall numbers, Pérez has a WHIP of 1.51 and has issued 3.19 walks per nine innings compared to 7.12 strikeouts. Out of his 18 starts, Pérez has turned in seven quality starts. In his most recent outing, he went seven innings, giving up two earned runs on six hits. He finished with a no-decision in that outing. Before that, he had gone six innings in three straight starts.
San Diego comes into today's game as the top-hitting team in the league, with a team batting average of .265. Not only are they the best hitting team in the league, but they also have the fewest strikeouts in the league and are among the league leaders in both on-base percentage and slugging. The Padres are also among the league leaders in runs scored, averaging 4.7 runs per game.
Jurickson Profar has been the Padres' top power threat this season, as he leads the team with 19 home runs and is also the team's leader in RBIs, with 72. Profar also comes into the game with a team-best on-base percentage of .394. Over his last five games, Luis Arraez is hitting .364 and has six runs scored.
Pirates vs. Padres Prediction: Padres ML -136
The best way to play this Pirates vs. Padres matchup is to take the Padres on the money line at -136. We have the Padres winning this one by a score of 5-4, giving us a little wiggle room with the over/under line sitting at 8.5 runs.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Martin Perez finishing with four strikeouts for the Padres and Mitch Keller ending with five for the Pirates. If you're looking for a parlay, you could look to pair the Padres with a starting pitcher strikeout prop.
