The Pirates are surging with confidence after ending Clayton Kershaw’s scoreless innings streak and beating the Dodgers last night.  And there’s no reason to think that Pittsburgh won’t be able to continue their winning ways with Francisco Liriano on the hill this afternoon.

The Pirates have enjoyed plenty of recent success against LA, winning each of their last three series against the Dodgers.  They’ve played better than .667 baseball at home this year; enjoying a significant edge at PNC Park.  That stands in sharp contrast with LA’s consistent road struggles – the Dodgers have lost more than 14 units for their supporters while sitting at four games under .500 on the highway.  LA’s ongoing road woes are the reason why Don Mattingly’s squad ranks among the bottom ten teams in baseball in terms of profitability.

The Pirates, on the other hand, once again rank among the top five teams in baseball to support this year; a perennially undervalued commodity.  They’ve won each of Liriano’s last six starts, and haven’t lost at home with Liriano on the hill since early June, a full two month span.  Liriano beat the Dodgers in both starts against them last year, allowing just a single run on nine hits in 12.2 innings of work.  And the Mets are the only team in baseball with more success under the sunshine than Pittsburgh – the Pirates are 22-11 in day games this year.

LA starter Mat Latos is fine when you put him in a pitcher friendly environment that benefits fly ballers– his last two starts came at Petco Field in San Diego and at Dodgers Stadium in LA, both strong pitchers parks.  But he got smacked around for four runs in five innings of work in his last outing against the Pirates.  And Don Mattingly’s bullpen behind him is not in great shape after last night’s extra inning loss on the heels of Thursday’s bullpen heavy Slugfest in Philly.  LA is 3-11 in their last 14 tries as underdogs; a trend worth riding again here.  Take the Pirates.