Braves To Continue Road Success Against Pirates
The Braves vs Pirates Preview Favor Visitors Against Fading Hosts

Homestand Is Off To a Shaky Start For the Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are starting to fade as they are now fourth in the National League Central Division. It won’t get much easier with the star-studded Atlanta Braves coming to town. The Braves vs Pirates preview has Atlanta favored not only in Friday’s opener but to win another series in Pittsburgh.
Atlanta has won 12 of the last 15 games against the Pirates and that includes six of the last eight games in Pittsburgh. Seven straight games between the Pirates and Braves went over the total with each of them having at least 10 runs scored before the most recent matchup saw Atlanta win 5-2.
The MLB betting odds have the Braves at -160 to win the series opener with -105 odds to cover at -1.5 on the run line. Pittsburgh is priced at +135 to win on Friday behind starting pitcher Bailey Falter. Atlanta comes in at -210 to win the three-game series.
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Atlanta is second behind the Los Angeles Dodgers at +450 in the odds of winning the World Series. The Pirates are well back at +25000 in the championship odds.
The standings have the Atlanta Braves six games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East Division. Atlanta is 13-10 on the road this season but has a track record of success while playing in Pittsburgh.
Braves vs Pirates 
Records: Atlanta Braves (29-18), Pittsburgh Pirates (23-28)Â
Day/Time:
Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Streaming: Bally Sports Southeast, SportsNet Pittsburgh
Braves vs Pirates Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: TBA (Braves); Bailey Falter (Pirates)
Saturday: Reynaldo Lopez (Braves); Mitch Keller (Pirates)
Sunday: Chris Sale (Braves); Martin Perez (Pirates)
Hardly A Brave New World
The Braves led the majors with a .276 team batting average, 307 home runs, 927 runs, and set the MLB record with a slugging percentage of .501.
Some of that damage was done in May with 51 home runs, 105 extra-base hits, and a .467 slugging percentage in 29 games.
It has been a different story this year with Atlanta ranking 22nd with a .375 slugging percentage. Keep that in mind when looking at the Braves vs Pirates preview.
It hasn’t helped that Austin Riley, one of two Atlanta hitters with a batting average over .300 in May, has missed 10 of the first 19 games in the month.
Ronald Acuna Jr. is hitting just .236, Ozzie Albies has a .197 average with two extra-base hits, and Michael Harris is batting.164. That is something to consider when looking at the MLB player prop options.
Bullpen Throwing Gasoline On A Fire
The Pirates are just 4-7 in one-run games in May thanks largely to a leaky bullpen.
In a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants, the Pirates lost the final two games even though rookie pitchers Jared Jones and Paul Skenes combined to allow 12 hits and four runs in 12 innings.
In the three-game series, Pittsburgh relievers allowed 17 hits and 14 runs in 11.2 innings. Pittsburgh is 26th among 30 MLB teams with a bullpen ERA of 4.66 this season. That could factor into the Braves vs Pirates preview.
Who’s Hot
- Joey Bart, Pittsburgh Pirates C: Bart is 11-for-24 with four runs and eight RBIs in his last seven games.
- Bailey Falter, Pittsburgh Pirates P: Falter allowed three hits and no runs in a season-high 7.2 innings in his last start to lower his ERA in May to 2.37.
- Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves: Sale has won his last six starts. In his last three games, Sale has surrendered 13 hits and no runs with 28 strikeouts in 20 innings.
- Chadwick Tromp, Atlanta Braves C: Tromp is 8-for-17 over his last five games.
Who’s Not
- Adam Duvall, Atlanta Braves OF: Duvall has two hits in his last 12 at-bats.
- Ray Kerr, Atlanta Braves P: Kerr has allowed nine hits and three runs over 6.1 innings in his last two games.
- Carmen Mlodzinski, Pittsburgh Pirates P: Mlodzinski has allowed seven hits and six runs in 3.2 innings over his last three outings.
- Rowdy Tellez, Pittsburgh Pirates 1B: Tellez is 2-for-34 with 11 strikeouts in his last 11 games.
Braves vs Pirates Injury Update
Atlanta infielder Austin Riley is questionable while catcher Sean Murphy and pitcher Tyler Matzek are on the MLB injured list.
Catcher Yasmani Grandal is questionable and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes is on the injured list for the Pirates.
Braves vs Pirates Betting Preview
With Reynaldo Lopez and Chris Sale set to start in the final two games of the series, the Pirates’ best chance to win might come in Friday’s series opener.
Atlanta is 27-15 as a favorite this season. The Braves are 12-9 against the run line as a road favorite. Pittsburgh has covered seven of its nine games as the home underdog.
The Pirates are 14-12 as an underdog.
Atlanta is 13-10 against the run line on the road with 15 of those games going under the total.
The Braves are 10-4 against left-handed starting pitchers.
Atlanta has seen 13 of its last 15 games land under the total as well as 13 of the last 15 road games. That has not been the case against the Pirates, with the game going over the last five times that the Braves played at Pittsburgh.
Six of Pittsburgh’s last eight games went over the total.
There is a slight chance of rain as the series gets underway on Friday night.
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