Detroit Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Predictions, Picks and Preview – April 15, 2015

The Detroit Tigers may have lost their first game of the season against Pittsburgh, but they responded well with a shutout win Tuesday night. Cooling off the Pirates’ hot bats may be difficult to do so again, so we’re up for an exciting ball game. Read on for our take on the conclusion to this interleague series.

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Detroit Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Preview

Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh

When: Wednesday, April 15, 7:05 PM ET

Line: Detroit Tigers (+130) at Pittsburgh Pirates (-140); total 7.5 – view all MLB lines

Betting on the Detroit Tigers

With Miguel Cabrera’s hot bat, the Detroit Tigers stand a great chance to win their third straight series of the season. Cabrera is on a five-game hitting streak, and has gone 3-for-8 with a double and an RBI in the first two games at Pittsburgh. He should have some success against Pirates starter Francisco Liriano tonight. Cabrera has hit .281 with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs lifetime against Liriano.

[sc:MLB240banner ]Cabrera isn’t the only Tiger to have some success at the plate against the Pirates. Yoenis Cespedes has gone 3-for-7 with a double in the series thus far, while Jose Iglesias has hit 2-of-6 with a double.

Designated hitter Victor Martinez will not be in the starting lineup due to the game taking place in the National League-based Pittsburgh. But he should be a valuable pinch hitter should the Pirates starter last until the latter innings.  He’s 13-of-28 with six doubles, a home run and seven RBIs in his career against Liriano.

After an excellent effort from second-year pitcher Shane Greene, who pitched a scoreless eight innings on Tuesday, the Tigers turn to the experienced arm of Alfredo Simon in this game. Simon surrendered three earned runs on seven hits in winning his first start of the season. He received plenty of run support in an 8-4 Tigers win at Cleveland.

Simon is quite familiar with Pittsburgh’s batters, and has limited them to hit .241 in his career. He’s 2-1 with a 5.76 ERA in four starts against the Pirates last season. His former team, Cincinnati, won three of those four games.

The total has gone over in five of Detroit’s eight games this season.

Betting on the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are in quite a bind heading into this interleague series-concluding game against Detroit. Their No. 1 starter, Liriano, is 5-9 with a 5.82 ERA all-time against the Tigers. He has not earned a victory against Detroit since August 2011.

But Liriano is coming off an excellent performance in his first start of the season. He surrendered just two earned runs, while striking out seven over seven innings in a 5-2 loss to Cincinnati on April 6. Liriano settled for a no-decision. He should limit production from Detroit’s Kinsler and Cespedes, who’ve hit just .176 and .100 against him in their respective careers.

Pittsburgh’s perennial MVP contender, Andrew McCutchen, is off to a slow start this season perhaps due to persistent soreness in his left knee. He’s hitting just .185 thus far this season with two home runs and seven RBIs. McCutchen is hitting .211 with a home run, an RBI and has walked five times lifetime against Detroit starter Simon.

The Pirates should still get some crucial hits from Josh Harrison. He’s gone 3-for-8 with a home run and an RBI in the ongoing series against Detroit. Harrison has hit .308 lifetime against Simon.

Pittsburgh has won seven of their last 10 games against the Tigers at PNC Park.

Writer’s Prediction

The Tigers (+130) win their third straight series of the season. Create a betting account now and make a profit from America’s pastime.
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