On Sunday at 1:35, the Mariners and Pirates will face off in an interleague matchup. This one is taking place at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and the Mariners are favored on the money line (-158). The money line odds for a Pirates win are at +134, and the over/under line is at 8 runs.
George Kirby will start for the Mariners, and he is facing off against Jake Woodford for the Pirates. Seattle is 63-61, and they are 2nd in the AL West, while the Pirates are 5th in the NL Central with an overall record of 58-64.
Seattle vs. Pittsburgh Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Mariners at Pirates
- Where: PNC Park Pittsburgh
- Date: Sunday, August 18th
- Betting Odds SEA -158 | PIT +134 O/U 8
Mariners vs Pirates Last Game Recap
Pittsburgh cruised to a 7-2 win over the Mariners in the most recent game of this series. The Pirates had a huge 3rd inning, scoring seven of their nine runs. As for the Mariners, they scored their only two runs in the 4th. Heading into the game, the Pirates were the slight underdogs at +131.
Bailey Falter only went 5 2/3 innings for the Pirates but gave up just two hits and two earned runs. He finished the game with eight strikeouts and didn't issue a walk. David Bednar came out of the bullpen for the save. Luis Castillo had a rough outing for the Mariners, taking the loss.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Rowdy Tellez, and Jared Triolo each homered for the Pirates. Kiner-Falefa, Joey Bart, and Victor Robles each had two RBIs for Pittsburgh's offense.
Mariners Preview
Seattle is currently on a five-game losing streak and down 0-2 in their series vs. the Pirates. As the road favorite, they have lost six straight games and have a 14-18 record in this spot. The Mariners are 26-35 on the road straight up and 26-35 on the run line.
For the season, the Mariners and their opponents have averaged 7.7 runs per game, resulting in a 54-65 over/under record. The over/under line for today's game is set at 8 runs, and their O/U record when the line is 8 runs is 8-11-1.
Seattle is sending right-hander George Kirby to the mound today as he faces the Pirates on the road. Kirby has made 25 starts this season and has a record of 8-9. His ERA is 3.42, along with a WHIP of 1.08. Looking at his overall numbers, opponents are batting .239 this season. Kirby's last outing came against the Tigers, where he gave up six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings of work. He took the loss in that outing. Before that, he had given up three earned runs in three straight outings. One positive note is that he has 15 quality starts this year.
Heading into today's game, Julio Rodríguez has been hot of late, going 6/15 in his last four games. For the season, he is batting .265 with 11 homers, which is 5th in the league. He is also 5th on the Mariners in RBIs. Catcher Cal Raleigh has been a consistent power threat for the Mariners this season, as his 26 homers lead the team and is 14th in the league. However, he is batting just .211.
Overall, the Mariners have been one of the league's worst offensive teams, as they are 27th in scoring at 3.9 runs per game and have the league's worst batting average. As a team, they are batting just .215 and are also near the bottom of the league in on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS. Seattle does come into the game with a collective on-base percentage of .301.
Pirates Preview
Overall, the Pirates have gone 69-53 on the run line this season, including 32-28 at home. They have covered the run line in four straight games at PNC Park. Straight up, Pittsburgh is 58-64 and they have lost four straight series. They are 33-43 as underdogs and 25-21 as favorites.
Pittsburgh has gone 12-14 O/U in games with an 8-run total line this season. Their over/under record for the year is 59-62, with the average total line in their games being 8.5 runs. The over has hit in their last three games, and the O/U line of 8 runs today accounts for 50.8% of their games this season.
Jake Woodford is looking to pick up his first win of the season today as he comes into the game with a record of 0-4 and ERA of 5.87. So far, he has made one quality start and is averaging 5.48 strikeouts per nine innings. Woodford's ERA at home is 10.08, compared to 0.75 on the road, where he is 0-1. In his last outing, he gave up one earned run in six innings of work and took the loss. The right-hander has given up at least one homer in three straight outings.
Over his last five games, Isiah Kiner-Falefa has gone 7/19 for the Pirates, including one home run and three RBIs. Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz are both near the top of the Pirates' home run and RBI leaderboards, with Reynolds leading the team with 69 RBIs and Cruz at 61. Both players have 18 homers this season. Reynolds comes into the game with a batting average of .283, while Cruz is batting .259.
Yasmani Grandal is currently on a three-game hitting streak for the Pirates and has gone 3/7 over his last two games. Joey Bart and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are also on three-game hitting streaks. McCutchen has been hot of late, going 4/10 over his last four games.
Mariners vs. Pirates Prediction: Pirates ML +134
With the Pirates at +134 to pick up a win, we see this as a great value pick, as our predicted score is 6-5 in favor of the Pirates. If you're looking for a payout, the Pirates money line is the way to go.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Jake Woodford is projected to go the distance for the Pirates, and his strikeout projection is 19th among starters, so we would recommend looking elsewhere if you're thinking of going with a starting pitcher in the strikeout market.
