Arizona Diamondbacks vs
Pittsburgh PiratesPredictions & Preview

Arizona Diamondbacks Look to Secure Series Lead Against Pittsburgh Pirates in Friday Night Showdown

The Arizona Diamondbacks (50-53) will be facing off against the Pittsburgh Pirates (42-61) in the first game of their three-game series at PNC Park on Friday night at 6:40 PM ET. Ryne Nelson (6-2, 3.52 ERA) will be starting for the Diamondbacks, while Mike Burrows (1-3, 4.70 ERA) will take the mound for the Pirates. The two teams have split their last 10 meetings, and Arizona will be aiming to take the series lead in this matchup. Stay tuned to see which team comes out on top in this Diamondbacks vs. Pirates showdown.

Betting Odds

• Moneyline: Diamondbacks -121 | Pirates +107
• Spread: Diamondbacks -1.5 (+136) | Pirates +1.5 (-162)
• Total: Over/Under 9 (-110)
• Based on the moneyline, the implied probability that Arizona will win straight-up is 55%.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks recently experienced a series win over St. Louis followed by a series loss to Houston, placing them fourth in the NL West standings. They look to improve their position with a win on Friday. Arizona averages 5.09 runs per game, with a .253 batting average (11th in the league), .329 on base percentage (fourth), and .446 slugging percentage (second). Josh Naylor leads the team with a .293 batting average, while Eugenio Suarez leads in home runs and RBI. On the defensive side, Arizona is giving up 4.94 runs per game (25th in the league) with opponents batting .253 against them. Their ERA is 4.58 (25th), and WHIP is 1.33 (24th). In his last start, Nelson performed well, giving up only one run in six innings, leading to a decisive win over St. Louis.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates recently bounced back from a series loss to the White Sox by sweeping Detroit in a three-game series. Despite being at the bottom of the NL Central standings, they are looking to make up ground with a win on Friday. The team averages 3.37 runs per game, ranking 30th in the league, with a batting average of .231 (21st), an on-base percentage of .301 (25th), and a slugging percentage of .341 (30th). Andrew McCutchen leads the team with a .256 batting average, while Oneil Cruz has hit 16 home runs and Bryan Reynolds leads with 50 RBI. On the defensive side, the Pirates are giving up 4.03 runs per game (10th) with opponents batting .236 against them (seventh). Their 3.87 ERA ranks 14th, with a WHIP of 1.22 (fourth). In a recent start, Burrows gave up three hits and two runs in five innings, resulting in a 10-4 loss to the White Sox.

Arizona Diamondbacks Have Advantage Over Struggling Pittsburgh Pirates in upcoming matchup

The Arizona Diamondbacks have won four of their last seven games, positioning them ahead of the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates who have lost six of their last 10 games. Arizona's strong batting performance against right-handed pitchers gives them an advantage in this matchup. Additionally, Pittsburgh is facing a formidable starter who has given up a significant number of runs in recent outings, which further tilts the scales in Arizona's favor. Conversely, Pittsburgh has shown weaknesses against right-handed pitchers and will be matched against a starter who has struggled in recent games. With Arizona's bullpen also performing well, they are likely to stifle Pittsburgh's offense. For these reasons, it is recommended to favor Arizona on the money line in this game.

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