Thanks to a huge come-from-behind victory on Wednesday afternoon, the 51-42 Washington Nationals now sit three-games clear in the NL East chase.
They've got their work cut out for them if they want to improve upon their +0.20 units in profits for the season on Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Bucs have definitely given up some ground these last few games. They've lost four of their last five coming into play on Wednesday, but they are still 7.73 units to the good this year. Remember though, that the reason Pittsburgh is 54-39 is because of its 32-16 home record. This is just the first series of the second half at PNC Park, so better can be expected even though the Pirates are struggling at the moment.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Remember the last time Max Scherzer pitched against the Pirates? He was a beaned batter with two outs in the ninth inning away from a complete game. He still finished the no-hitter, and the Bucs are going to have to hit the ball better against him than they did the last time out.
Jeff Locke has quietly been very good for the Pirates since the middle of June. Yes, his 5-6 record and 4.01 ERA don't really make you think that he has the stuff to beat a Cy Young candidate like Scherzer. That said, in his last seven outings, Locke, in spite of his modest 2-3 record, has a very respectable 1.96 ERA. If he keeps this up, he might be a force on Friday.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Grit, determination, perseverance, keep playing the game. That's our guys. They just keep playing the game day after day and inning after inning, just staying focused on the task at hand." – Pirates manager Clint Hurdle on the state of his team after a bad start to the second half of the season
SITUATIONAL BETTING
That grit is really showing for the Pirates in the late innings of games. Even though they’ve lost four of these first five in the second half, they’ve plated at least one run in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning in all of these duels.
On Tuesday night, they were down 3-0 against the Royals in the ninth inning, and even though they only plated one run, they had the bases loaded with Gregory Polanco up to bat to potentially win it. This team is never out of games.
PROP TALK
Bryce Harper grimaced and held his wrist after an awkward swing on Wednesday night, and that has us concerned heading into play on Friday. Sure, Harper stayed in the game, but he is only batting .235 in the second half anyway, and parlay that with his potential wrist issue, and we know we won't want to be backing Harper against a solid lefty like Locke.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Locke is going to be a huge underdog in this game in all likelihood, but we aren't sure that is warranted. Washington has a great team, but on the road, this could be a totally different situation.
The Pirates batters will have learned their lesson from facing Scherzer the first time around, and if they can at least get some wood on the ball, something they didn't do a lot of in DC in June, they could eke out a few runs. Doing that would be enough to win this game with Locke out there, especially if Harper is out or hampered by this wrist issue.
Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2
The MLB lines for this Friday contest will be first released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the Washington Nationals versus the Pittsburgh Pirates will commence at 7:05 p.m. ET on Friday, July 24, 2015 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA. The matchup will be televised live on the MLB Network.
