The Pittsburgh Pirates (62-72) travel to face off against the Cleveland Guardians (77-58) on Saturday, August 31st. This game will be played at Progressive Field in Cleveland and televised on SN PT. The Guardians are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Pirates are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Guardians. First pitch is set for 5:10 CT.
Pirates vs. Guardians Betting Prediction
- Money Line Prediction: Guardians (-165)
- Over/Under Prediction: Over 8.5 Runs
- The Guardians have won 4 of their last 5 home games, showcasing strong recent performance at home.
- The Guardians have scored 10 or more runs in 3 of their last 7 home games, indicating a potent offense.
- The Guardians have a 6-4 record in their last 10 games, showing a positive trend in recent performance.
- The Guardians have outscored their opponents by a total of 18 runs in their last 5 home games, demonstrating effective run production.
- The Pirates are on a 4-game losing streak, indicating a recent struggle in performance.
Pirates vs Guardians
Cleveland picked up a 10-8 win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. The Guardians had a huge 5th inning, scoring six of their ten runs. As for the Pirates, they scored their final run in the 9th. Heading into the game, the Guardians were favored at -151 on the money line.
Pittsburgh wasted a good outing from Bailey Falter, as he gave up just two earned runs in four innings of work for the Pirates. Carmen Mlodzinski took the loss. Pedro Avila got the win out of the bullpen for the Guardians as Ben Lively went just 4 1/3 innings, giving up six earned runs.
Offensively, the Guardians were led by a huge game from Andres Gimenez, who went 3/5 with a home run. He scored twice and drove in three runs. Jhonkensy Noel also homered for Cleveland and drove in two runs.
The Pirates are 62-72 this season and are looking to end a four-game losing streak as they face the Guardians on the road. They are 5th in the NL Central, 16.5 games behind the Brewers. As underdogs, Pittsburgh has a 35-48 record, and their run line record is 55-28.
When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, Pittsburgh’s games have gone over that line 28 times in 48 games, and their overall over/under record is 66-66. The Pirates’ run line record is 40-26, including a 1-0 run line losing streak.
Luis L. Ortiz Gets The Start For The Pirates
Pittsburgh is sending Luis L. Ortiz to the mound today vs. the Guardians, and he comes in with a record of 5-4 and ERA of 3.36. So far this year, he has made 10 starts, 16 of which have come on the road. Ortiz’s ERA on the road is 3.66, compared to 3.79 at home. He has allowed at least one homer in three straight starts and has a total of 12 this year. Ortiz’s WHIP for the season is 1.12, and he is coming off a start in which he didn’t allow a run in six innings of work.
Pirates Offense Breakdown
So far this season, the Pirates offense has been below average in terms of scoring runs, averaging 4.2 runs per game (19th in the league). They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and slugging percentage. As a team, the Pirates are batting .237, which is 16th in the league.
Bryan Reynolds has been one of the Pirates’ most consistent hitters this season, as he is batting .284 with a team-high 21 home runs. He has also been hot of late, going 8/24 in his last six games with two homers. Oneil Cruz has also been swinging a hot bat, going 12/26 in his last six games.
Currently leading the AL Central by 2.5 games, the Guardians have a 77-58 record and are 42-24 at home this season. Against the run line at home, they are 32-34, with an average run margin of 0.5 runs per game. Cleveland’s overall series record this year is 24-14-5, and they are up 1-0 against the Pirates in this series.
This season, the over/under record for Cleveland games with an 8.5 run total is 20-16. The over has hit in their last two games, and their overall O/U record is 65-61. As favorites, the Guardians are 54-29 straight up and 37-17 at home. Against the run line, they are 37-46 in games where they were favored, with an overall run line record of 67-68.
Matthew Boyd Gets The Start For The Guardians
Matthew Boyd will be taking the mound for the Guardians today as they host the Pirates. Boyd has started 3 games this season and has a win and 2 no-decisions. He is coming off a strong start against the Rangers, where he went 6 innings and gave up just 1 earned run.
Guardians Offense Breakdown
Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor have been the top power threats for the Guardians this season, coming in 1st and 2nd in homers, respectively. Ramirez is also 2nd on the team in batting average (.276) and has the 2nd most RBIs in the league this season. Naylor is hitting just .240 but has 98 RBIs, which is 3rd in the MLB. Over his last nine games, Ramirez is hitting .312, while Jhonkensy Noel has three homers in his last seven games.
The Guardians are averaging 4.6 runs per game this season and have been a better offensive team at home, averaging 5 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting just .239, but are 12th in home runs and have the 2nd most RBIs in the league. Cleveland’s offense is 3rd in the league in fewest strikeouts per game.
Pirates vs Guardians Prediction
Our predicted final score for this one is 5-4 in favor of the Guardians. However, with a money line payout of -165, we will be looking to the over/under line, where the line is currently sitting at 8.5 runs.
There is some solid value on the over, with the payout sitting at -105. Looking at some of our projections, Matthew Boyd is predicted to finish with six strikeouts, and we have Luis Ortiz with just four.
Looking at some of our other projections, the Guardians are expected to finish with nine hits compared to the Pirates with eight.
Another reason we like the over is that the Pirates are projected to finish with just four runs compared to the Guardians with five.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.
Last updated:August 31, 2024 Guardians, Pirates