MLB Betting – Pirates vs Phillies Preview & Pick
It’s cool to see a Battle of Pennsylvania game matter besides Penguins/Flyers or Steelers/Eagles for a change, isn’t it?
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MLB Betting – Pirates vs Phillies Preview & Pick
Date: Friday, July 29, 2011
Venue: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast: ROOT, CSN
Pittsburgh Pirates at Philadelphia Phillies Betting Lines from Bodog.eu
Money Line: Phillies -270
Over/Under: 7
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Pittsburgh Pirates (53-49 through July 27)
Charlie Morton (8-5, 3.69)
The resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates had lost five of seven – and their National League Central division lead – through Wednesday night. A series win at Philadelphia is a tall order but would be a massive boost for the Bucs’ confidence.
Pittsburgh’s pitching staff isn’t the least bit overpowering but it’s gotten some surprisingly useful efforts from its plucky rotation. Charlie Morton has been a key contributor. Some of his peripherals – namely, his 1.50 WHIP and .280 opponents’ average – suggest he’s been pretty lucky this year. But Morton has done a phenomenal job avoiding the long ball, serving up just four taters in 107.1 innings. He beat the Phillies at home on June 4, pitching seven innings of two-run baseball. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Philadelphia Phillies (65-38 through July 27)
Roy Halladay (12-4, 2.55)
Thanks to their amazing pitching staff, the Philadelphia Phillies are still cruisin’ atop the National League East. It’s no big surprise. They send an ace to the hill almost every night.
The leader among that group is, of course, Roy Halladay. It’s a testament to his skill that his 3.21 ERA in July almost qualifies as a “slump.” One thing about Halladay: the one or two teams that succeed against him do so regularly and the rest almost never succeed against him. The Pirates are in the latter group. Doc has a 1.45 ERA over four career starts against them.
MLB Trends
Under is 11-4 in PIT last 15 Fri. games.
PIT are 53-124 in their last 177 road games.
PIT are 6-20 in Mortons last 26 road starts.
PHI are 51-22 in their last 73 home games.
Under is 11-5-1 in PHI last 17 home games.
PHI are 35-16 in their last 51 Fri. games.
PIT are 6-2 in the last 8 meetings.
MLB Free pick:
Even though Morton has been helpful this season, he may pitch well at Philly on Friday and still lose. Doc is 19-6 with a 2.27 ERA at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies offense is also showing signs of life, having driven home seven or more runs four times in its last 10 games.
I wouldn’t necessarily expect a high-scoring game, but I like the Phillies to prevail.
Pirates vs Phillies Prediction: Phillies 4, Pirates 1
