San Diego Tries To Keep Pace in NL West
The San Diego Padres go for a second straight win when they play host to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second of a three-game weekend series on Saturday night. San Diego rallied for a 4-3 victory in the series opener on Friday and is two games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. Pittsburgh has dropped five of seven and sits in a tie for third place in the NL Central with the Chicago Cubs. The opener was a close one, so before you make a bet online on the second game of the series, make sure you read our in-depth preview of the contest.
Let’s check the latest MLB picks, stats, injury reports, and MLB odds for Pirates vs Padres. We’ve plenty of MLB predictions.
Pirates Continue To Have Trouble with Consistency
The Pittsburgh Pirates have alternated between wins and losses for the last five games, with the team going from scoring one run in 10 innings to scoring 10 runs in a win from day to day. On Friday night, it was scoring three runs in the first four innings, then not scoring again as the San Diego Padres came back to win.
Outfielder Bryan Reynolds drove in the Pirates’ first run with a home run, his sixth. Reynolds is batting .217 with five doubles, a triple, 10 RBIs, and 16 runs scored.
Outfielder Ben Gamel was 0-for-3 in the loss but had a walk and scored a run. Gamel leads the Pirates with 17 RBIs while batting .263, adding seven doubles, a triple, three home runs, and 20 runs scored.
Pittsburgh will have right-hander JT Brubaker making his 10th start on Saturday night. Brubaker is 0-4 with a 4.64 ERA, recording 47 strikeouts and 21 walks over 42⅔ innings. He’s coming off a solid start against the Colorado Rockies on Monday in which he went 6⅔ innings and allowed just one unearned run on five hits while striking out four and walking two.
Voit Has Big Hit To Power Padres’ Comeback
Luke Voit has struggled in his first season with the San Diego Padres, but he came through in a big way in Friday’s win. Voit’s three-run home run tied the game in the sixth inning.
“I’ve been grinding and needed to step up,” Voit said after Friday’s win. “We’ve been struggling with runners in scoring position. It felt good, especially after my first two at-bats. I was just getting too big and I just need to slow the game down sometimes. This game’s already hard enough.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to take every positive out of this game. I finally got a big situation to come up and just slow the game down and look for a pitch that I knew I was going to get and I finally got it, so it was good.”
Voit is batting just .205 with three doubles, three home runs, 10 RBIs, and 14 runs scored.
Outfielder WIl Myers came through as well, driving in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Myers is batting .233 with six doubles, a home run, 19 RBIs, and 13 runs scored in 30 games.
Right-hander Joe Musgrove will take the mound, bringing a 5-0 record and 1.90 ERA, which ranks fourth in baseball. Musgrove has 51 strikeouts in 52 innings over eight starts. In his first start against the Pirates this season on May 1, Musgrove went seven innings, allowing one run on seven hits while striking out eight and walking none.
Pirates vs Padres Head-to-Head
The San Diego Padres have won three of the first four meetings between these teams after Friday’s win. The Pittsburgh Pirates are hoping to win the next two contests to finish in a tie in the season series after Sunday.
San Diego took the season series a year ago, winning four of seven matchups, including a 2-1 record at home. A glance at the MLB lines shows the home-standing Padres as heavy favorites to repeat Friday night’s success in the second game of the series.
Pirates vs Padres Game Information
- Game: Pittsburgh Pirates (18-26) at San Diego Padres (29-16)
- Location: Petco Park
- Day/Time: Saturday, 10:10 p.m. ET
- Live Stream: MLB TV
Pirates vs Padres Betting Lines
Pittsburgh Pirates +1½ -105 +200 7 -110o 2½ -110o 2½ -120u
JT. Brubaker -R
San Diego Padres -1½ -115 -240 7 -110u 4½ +110o 4½ -140u
J. Musgrove -R
Pirates vs Padres Prediction
The Pittsburgh Pirates just don’t have the offense to keep up with the San Diego Padres in this one, especially with Musgrove getting the start for San Diego. Look for a much easier victory for the home team in this one, as the Padres clinch the season series,
When making your MLB picks, take San Diego to get the win at home.
