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Free MLB Pick: Astros vs. Pirates Odds
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64-60 (30-32 V) Houston Astros vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 62-59 (33-28 H)
Date: Tuesday August 23, 2016
Time: 7:05 PM ET
Venue: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Projected Pitchers: Joe Musgrove vs. Ivan Nova
MLB Moneyline Odds: Astros -143
MLB RunLine Betting Odds: Off
MLB Betting Total: 7.5
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These teams are in similar spots. Neither has a chance to really catch their division leader and neither are in a Wild Card spot at current.
The big difference is mindset I guess.
The Astros are scratching and clawing to return to the playoffs while Pittsburgh is probably a little surprised that the team hasn’t fallen out of the race after their midseason moves.
Houston Astros
The Astros laid the wood on Baltimore over the weekend.
The top of their lineup is as good as any in baseball right now and you honestly can’t say enough about Jose Altuve. I think they have to make the playoffs for him to grab an MVP award but he has been amazing.
He leads the Majors in hitting and has already set career highs in runs, homers and RBI.
He is a hacker too which makes him even more fun to watch.
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Joe Musgrove burst into the Majors with 8Ks against the Jays in his first appearance – in relief. Since then he has made two strong starts followed by one in which he got hit pretty hard at Baltimore.
That lineup is infinitely more powerful than what the Pirates have though and I am taking the outing to show that he is human.
If he keeps the ball in the ballpark he will give his team a great shot and he looks good out there so far.
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Bucs might have sealed their fate by losing all three to the Marlins over the weekend. The losses sting for sure but it also helped out Miami…a lot.
All three games were close too, which makes this series against Houston that much more pivotal. They need a rebound but it is hard to know if they have it in them.
Would definitely love to see more offense. Andrew McCutcheon was hot for a while but he was just 2 for 12 over the weekend.
They just don’t have an elite or significant power bat this season.
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Ivan Nova has made three starts since coming over from the Yankees and the Pirates have won all three. It has not been in spite of him either as he has yet to walk a batter in the NL.
That is something that he is going to have to maintain at an elite level if he wants to have continued success because he is very hittable.
The Pirates bullpens has a lot of question marks with Mark Melancon dealt away.
MLB Baseball Betting Trends:
- Over is 8-1 in HOU last 9 on grass.
- HOU are 24-10 in their last 34 interleague games.
- HOU are 7-3 in their last 10 road games.
- Over is 8-0 in PIT last 8 interleague home games.
- Over is 20-8 in PIT last 28 interleague games.
- Over is 5-2-1 in PIT last 8 on grass.
Free Houston Astros vs. Pittsburgh Pirates MLB Prediction:
There is not a ton to go on with Musgrove yet other than he can get strikeouts. That is a good skill to have when you are learning as young pitchers often get themselves into trouble.
Nova is not very inspiring on the mound but the Astros should be a little familiar with him from his time in the AL.
You have to wonder if the Bucs have gone about as far as they can and the Astros will be pretty hungry.
4* Free MLB Betting Pick: Houston ML
Houston looks like the play here. Momentum is on their side and Musgrove might have something going. I never like Nova anyway.
MLB Free Score Prediction: Houston 5 – Pittsburgh 2
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