The Pittsburgh Pirates have clinched their second-straight trip to the NL wild-card playoff, but they’re regular season’s still far from over. With a chance to further improve their postseason situation on the line, the Pirates will be going all out for a win in Atlanta against the struggling Braves, who have failed to score many wins – or runs – all month long.
Read on to see the Pirates’ chances of pillaging another win in this game, which is also part of our daily MLB Free Picks.
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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Atlanta Braves Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Turner Field, Atlanta
When: September 25, 2014, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Pittsburgh Pirates (-150) at Atlanta Braves (+135); total 7.0– see all MLB lines
What’s at Stake
The Pittsburgh Pirates have already clinched one of the two NL wild-card spots, most likely against the San Francisco Giants, but they still have a shot at the NL Central title. They currently trail the St. Louis Cardinals by 1.5 games with four games remaining.
The Pirates must win to keep their chances of that division crown – and automatic playoff berth – alive, as well as to preserve their current one-game lead for homefield advantage in the wild-card play-in game.
Betting on the Pittsburgh Pirates
[sc:MLB240banner ]Ever since suffering a three-game sweep against the St. Louis Cardinals at the start of September, the Pittsburgh Pirates have reeled off 15 wins in their next 19 games to clinch an NL wild-card spot. And with the Pirates still in with a shout for the NL Central, they won’t be lacking in motivation to avoid a first losing streak since the aforementioned sweep.
The key to the Pirates’ success has been some excellent run prevention. Their 6-2 loss to the Braves last night broke a streak of nine consecutive games holding opponents to three runs or less.
The Pirates send out their ace, Edinson Volquez, who will look to begin a new streak tonight against the Braves. Though eight starts since the start of August, Volquez has sported a miniscule 1.81 ERA.
The tremendous pitching and defense has made up for the Pirates’ shortcomings at the plate. Despite MVP Andrew McCutchen’s .421 average and two home runs in the past week, Pittsburgh hasn’t scored over four runs in seven consecutive games.
But with the Buccos facing a David Hale, who is normally a reliever, the Pirates’ ability to work the count (they’re sixth in the MLB in walks) and get on base (.330 OBP, third in MLB) will test the inexperienced starter’s ability to last in the game for very long.
It’s been a truly miserable September to un-remember for the Atlanta Braves. Heading into the month, the Braves were still well in contention for both the division crown and a wild-card spot, but a disastrous 5-16 record torpedoed all those postseason hopes.
To put it simply, the Braves just couldn’t score enough runs to save their playoff lives. Their six-run explosion last night was just the third time the team has topped five runs in the entire month. Their anemic lineup, which includes the Mendoza line-toeing B.J. Upton, has just not been reliable enough at producing runs all season long.
The Braves’ rotation has once again been one of the best this season, ranking first in quality starts, but tonight’s starter, David Hale, has not been part of it. Hale’s 3.27 ERA has primarily come from his work off the Braves’ bullpen.
But he did make a few starts to begin the season when the Braves were beset with pitching injuries. In those four games, Hale had a respectable 2.31 ERA, but handed out 11 walks against 15 strikeouts. Hale will have the advantage of being an unknown quantity the Pirates’ batters have yet to face (they have just five career at-bats against him), but he’ll need to limit his walks and stay longer in the game to give the Braves a chance.
Writer’s Prediction
The Pirates batter pound away at the hapless Hale while Volquez shuts down the punchless Braves lineup. Take Pittsburgh (-150) claims a key victory in Atlanta.
