Thursday afternoon baseball and we will see the Pittsburgh pirates take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the final game of their 4 game series. The game is scheduled for a 1:05 pm start time and it will be televised live on ROOT (Pittsburgh) and CSN (Philadelphia). Currently the odds have the Pirates favored at -115, while the Phillies are dogs of +108. The total for the game is at 8.5 runs.
Free Analysis: Pittsburgh beat the Phillies 11-7 on Wednesday, winning for the third time in its last 19 games in Philadelphia. Michael McKenry had a three-run homer, Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run blast and Casey McGehee had a solo shot as the Pirates took advantage of Charlie Manuel's decision to use strictly relief pitchers because of Sunday's doubleheader. McCutchen, who's 3 for 4 against Kendrick since 2011, is now batting .444 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in his last 11 games, while McKenry, who is filling in for injured catcher Rod Barajas, is 7 for 11 with two homers and six RBIs - half his season total - in this series. Getting the ball for Pittsburgh today is AJ Burnett. Since Burnett was blasted by St. Louis on May 2, Pittsburgh has won his last nine starts with the right-hander earning the decision in the last seven behind a 1.87 ERA. This matches the longest consecutive start winning streak of his career, set with Florida in 2005, and is the best by a Pirate since Dock Ellis won eight straight in 1974. Burnett has struggled with Philadelphia, though, going 5-9 with a 5.13 ERA in his career vs this team. The Phillies need Utley, Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay to all be healthy if they're going to have any chance of winning a sixth straight NL East crown. They got one of the pieces back Wednesday. Chase Utley returned Wednesday after missing the first 76 games because of a chronic problem in both knees, and he didn't miss a beat. He homered in his first at-bat and finished with three hits, but the loss dropped Philadelphia nine games back of division-leading Washington. Until Utley and Howard, who is scheduled to start a rehab stint Thursday, return to full strength, the offense continues to lean on Carlos Ruiz. Ruiz, who leads the majors with a .364 average, has homered in each of his last two games and is 8 for 13 in the series. Ruiz is 3 for 3 with a homer in the regular season against Burnett. Philadelphia tosses out 2-7 Kyle Kendrick with a 5.24 ERA for Game Four. Kyle has an 8.10 ERA while going 0-3 in his last four starts overall, but he is 4-1 with a 3.25 ERA in five starts vs the Pirates. Philly is just 17-23 at home, while the Pirates are 16-22 on the road.
Free Pick: Going to look to the home team in this one. The Phillies haven't been the team they were expected to be this year, but they haven't given up and have continued to fight. Last night was a good example as they fell behind 8-2 early, but came back to within 1 run late, before the Pirates pulled ahead again. The Phils offense is not as bad as it was in the early part of the year as they are now 12th in scoring and 6th in hitting and they will be taking on a starter that has struggled vs them. This year AJ Burnett is having a heck of a year and he is is 7-0 with a 1.97 ERA im his last 7 starts, but he is also 1-4 with a 9.27 ERA in his last 5 starts vs Philly and 2-3 with a 5.13 ERA in 5 starts in this park. Kyle Kendrick has struggled this year, with a 2-7 mark and a 5.24 ERA, but he is also 4-1 with a 3.25 ERA in his last 5 starts vs Pittsburgh. The Pirates put 11 runs on the board last night, but this offense isn'r really equipped to do that in back to back games. The Phills need wins and they will get one tonight behind a solid outing from Kendrick.
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MLB Free Picks: Pittsburgh Pirates at Philadelphia Phillies
What baseball bettors need to know about Pirates at Phillies on Thursday (6/28/12) - with Pregame.com's Vegas Runner and host Scott Spreitzer.