Josh Bell and the Pittsburgh Pirates will be taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in a Saturday showdown. KTLA-TV 5 will televise this NL matchup and the game gets underway at 9:10 p.m. ET.
Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Dodgers Odds
Las Vegas has Los Angeles (-180) as the favorite over Pittsburgh (+170). The total currently stands at 7 runs and bettors can play the over for -115 or the under for -105. There’s a runline of Pirates +1.5 (-130) and Dodgers -1.5 (+110) for this matchup.
The Pirates are 12-12 SU and have gone 13-10 against the spread (ATS). They’ve accumulated 2.0 units for gamblers taking the moneyline in the season’s early going and 1.3 units ATS. Pittsburgh is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the total has gone under in five of those seven. The Dodgers, on the other hand, are 17-11 SU and 10-17 ATS. They’ve gained 1.4 units for moneyline bettors while gaining 6.0 units ATS. Los Angeles has covered the spread only twice over its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven.
Los Angeles games have had an over/under record of 14-13 so far in 2019. Pittsburgh has an over/under record of 9-14.
Joe Musgrove is getting the nod for the visiting Pirates. The right-handed Musgrove is 1-1 with a 1.59 ERA and 26 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Dodgers this year and only made one start against them in 2018 (0-1, 5.40 ERA and five strikeouts across five innings).
The Dodgers will deploy lefty Clayton Kershaw (0-0, 2.77 ERA) to the mound. Kershaw has 13 punchouts and four walks as well as a 0.85 WHIP. Kershaw only made one start against the Pirates in 2018 (1-0, 3.00 ERA and two strikeouts across six innings).
Pittsburgh’s pitchers have allowed 4.0 runs per game and its starters own a 3.01 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 7.91 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.36, along with a WHIP of 1.07.
The Pirates offense has slashed .229/.298/.363 on its way to 3.2 runs scored per game this season, including 2.6 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 1.8 per game over the team’s last five contests (0-5 SU).
Pittsburgh’s hitters have been led by first baseman Josh Bell and right fielder Melky Cabrera. Bell is hitting .282/.364/.612 with six home runs, 18 RBIs and 16 runs scored, while Cabrera (.306/.333/.403) has produced one homers, four RBIs and five runs scored.
For the home team, Los Angeles’ pitchers have allowed 4.4 runs per game overall this season. The team’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 3.76, a WHIP of 1.15 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 8.8. The bullpen has a 4.83 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 8.9 K/9.
Los Angeles’ hitters are putting up 5.4 runs per outing, including 3.9 per game over its last 10 games and 4.4 per game over their last five. The team has a slash-line of .224/.321/.404 over its last five games and is 3-2 SU during that span.
Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager have led the Dodgers’ batters this year. Bellinger is slashing .433/.509/.918 with 13 home runs, 33 RBIs and 29 runs scored, while Seager’s line sits at .266/.367/.404 with 25 hits, seven RBIs and 17 runs.
The Pirates have gained 2.9 units and are 4-2 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has hit in three of those games, compared to three that’ve hit the under in such games. On the other hand, the Dodgers have netted 3.1 units and are 8-11 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in eight of those games, as opposed to 11 that’ve gone under.
Pirates vs. Dodgers Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Dodgers, ATS Winner – Pirates, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The under has cashed in five of Pittsburgh’s last seven games.
- Pittsburgh fielders have four errors over the last five games, compared to only zero errors for Los Angeles over its last five.
- The Pirates have hit eight home runs in their last 10 games. The Dodgers have hit 12 over their last 10.
- The Pirates have a team OPS of .661 this season, including an OPS of .605 when facing left-handed pitchers. The Dodgers’ OPS sits at .825 overall and .741 against southpaws.
