The Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers begin their series this evening when the Dodgers host the Buccos in the first of four games. The game will see the first pitch at 10:05 p.m. (EST) and the Major League Baseball Odds for the contest have Dodgers favored to pick up a win.
Pittsburgh is trying to find a way to get things figured out this season. The Pirates were one of the best teams in baseball a year ago but have not been able to get things situated in 2014. Pittsburgh is the worst team in the majors on the road this season, sporting a 7-16 record so far. The Dodgers have their own problems and one of the bigger ones is playing inside Chavez Ravine, where Los Angeles has gone just 11-14 this season.
One of the two trends will have to give in this series. Pittsburgh has also dropped nine straight games to the Dodgers, hitting .167 in those games while seeing the Dodgers hold a 47-10 scoring advantage. The nine straight losses to the Dodgers is the longest active road losing streak they have against any club in the majors. The Pirates also just lost two out of three to the New York Mets as they opened a two-week road mark on Monday. The final two games saw Pittsburgh collect just two runs.
Dan Haren will get the ball for the Dodgers. He's 2-0 with an ERA of 2.39 in four home starts this season. He's dropped two straight decisions overall and is 5-3 with a 3.16 ERA this season. Haren went 2-0 with a 2.96 ERA in his first four starts against Pittsburgh, but is 1-2 with a 7.15 ERA in his last four outings against the Pirates.
If Pittsburgh can get their road woes figured out, they can get back to being a solid team like 2013. So far this year they're hitting .221 on the road and averaging just over three runs per game. That's nearly 50 points lower on their average and a full run less than they average in home games.
Gerrit Cole gets the ball for the Pirates tonight. He picked up a win in his last start over the Dodgers in 2013, but this will be his first start inside Dodger Stadium. He's 4-3 on the season with a 3.76 ERA. Last year Yasiel Puig clubbed three hits in three at bats against Cole. Puig is having a very solid season at the plate, ranking above the best in baseball with a .344 average. The past 29 games have been a big reason for that as he's reached base safely in each game and is hitting .402 during that span.
Tonight we like the Dodgers to get a win at home.
Free Pick: Los Angeles 5, Pittsburgh 2
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