Arizona Diamondbacks at Pittsburgh Pirates Series Preview & Odds

Diamondbacks Are Red Hot

In the extraordinarily tight NL Wild Card race, one good week can vault you up into a playoff spot and a bad week can have you fall below multiple teams.

Right now, the Arizona Diamondbacks are on a tear that has given them a temporary hold on the third Wild Card as they’ve won seven of eight and 8-3 since the All-Star break. They’ll try to keep it going this weekend as they host the Pittsburgh Pirates who are 2.5 games behind Arizona.

The D’Backs vs Pirates series odds have Arizona as the favorites, with the Diamondbacks at -134 moneyline favorites for Friday’s opener and +126 runline favorites. The total is 8.5 runs.

Arizona is coming off a sweep of the Washington Nationals in which the Diamondbacks scored 31 runs. Their lineup has been clicking as of late as they have gained some serious ground in the standings.

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They’re only five games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West to boot, an incredible accomplishment considering that Arizona was only one game over .500 at the break. The MLB results recently have been very kind to the 2023 NL pennant winners.

Pittsburgh is also playing well, having won three of four. They dropped two of three to the Diamondbacks in Arizona last weekend but bounced back to take two of three from the Houston Astros this week.

The Pirates made a couple of nice moves at the trade deadline, adding outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, infielder Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and reliever Jalen Beeks as they try to keep pace in the Wild Card chase.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Pittsburgh Pirates

📊Records: Diamondbacks (58-51)/Pirates (55-53)
⏰Day/Time: Friday, August 2nd, 6:40 PM ET
📍Location: PNC Park; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
📺Streaming: MLB.TV

Rotation Sets Up Well For Pittsburgh

The biggest reason as to why the Pirates have been able to surprise people and remain competitive all season is their starting rotation. While they may be on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, the D’Backs vs Pirates series odds recognize that Pittsburgh’s rotation has the third-best ERA in baseball.

Of course, that’s in large part due to rookie phenom Paul Skenes — scheduled to pitch on Sunday — but also because of Luis L. Ortiz (Friday’s starter) and Mitch Keller (Saturday’s starter).

Skenes and his 1.90 ERA and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings rightfully grab the headlines but Ortiz has been very good since shifting into the rotation from the bullpen and Keller has produced an All-Star-caliber season in his own right.

Having those three guys pitch in this series gives the Pirates a big advantage considering that the Diamondbacks’ ace, Zac Gallen, pitched on Wednesday and won’t go this weekend.

With a subpar lineup and bullpen, the formula for Pittsburgh wins is pretty simple: They need quality starts with length.

In order to keep their MLB playoff odds alive, Skenes and Co. have to keep pitching deep into games so the Pirates can avoid relying on their shaky middle relievers and go straight to their strong high-leverage arms.

Arizona’s Lineup Is Tough

You might not think it when you look at the Diamondbacks’ roster but this team is second in the Majors in runs, fourth in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage and fifth in OPS. No wonder the D’Backs vs Pirates series odds are expecting big things from Arizona in Friday’s series opener.

There aren’t really any major holes from the top to bottom of the lineup and the big names — Ketel Marte, Joc Pederson, Christian Walker, Eugenio Suárez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. — are all having good years.

Arizona will be without Walker this weekend, though, as he was just placed on the injured list with a strained oblique. As the Diamondbacks’ second-best power threat behind Marte, Walker being out is a big loss but it’s one that Arizona certainly can make up for on a short-term basis.

It says a lot about this team’s depth that its worst regular all season has been reigning Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, who just hasn’t been able to get on track. He has shown signs of perking up lately, though, but the overall numbers are still ugly.

Even without Walker, Arizona can score runs in a lot of different ways and, importantly, can do so without relying on the long ball. Even for a good starting staff like Pittsburgh has, this is going to be a tough matchup.

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Go With Pirates

While the MLB expert picks may be torn in this matchup between the Pirates’ pitching and Diamondbacks’ hitting, go with Pittsburgh as +114 moneyline underdogs on Friday.

The Pirates strafed Friday’s starter Brandon Pfaadt for five runs a week ago and have since added De La Cruz to improve a scuffling outfield. He should be able to make a big difference a Pirates team starved for runs.

With that said, consider the over 8.5 runs (-102) . It’s hard for two pitchers to face the same lineup twice in a week. Expect some offense here.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.


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