Pittsburgh Pirates vs Arizona Diamondbacks Free MLB Pick & Preview, 5–14–2017
Pittsburgh Pirates (14–22) at Arizona Diamondbacks (21–16)
MLB Baseball: Sunday, May 14th, 4:10 pm EST
Ivan Nova (3–3, 2.23 ERA) vs Robbie Ray (2–3, 4.14 ERA)
Line: Diamondbacks -143 / Pittsburgh Pirates +133 | Over/Under: 9
Last Meeting: 5/13/17 — PIT 4 ARZ 3 | Under 10.5 runs
Featured Matchup by George Hampton (7–2 L9 MLB Moneyline Picks)
Trends:
PIT 11–4 last 15 meetings vs Arizona
Diamondbacks are 19–7 in their last 26 home games
Game 4 of this four-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona won Game 1 and 2 with the Pirates squeezing out a Game 3 win, 4–3. Pittsburgh had dropped the first five games of its road trip and six straight overall before edging Arizona 4–3 on Saturday. The pitching matchup for Sunday features RHP Ivan Nova for the Pirates vs LHP Robbie Ray.
Despite a (3–3) record, Ivan Nova has pitched very well so far this season and with a little more run support he may have a much better record. Nova boasts a 2.23 ERA along with a minuscule 0.95 WHIP after going 6.1 innings vs the Dodgers in his last outing but finishing with the ND. Nova has only conceded three homers all season, giving him a strong 0.56 HR/0 rating which will be very beneficial facing one of the top offenses in MLB.
The Pirates are not off to the start they anticipated this season and one of the biggest factors has been their lack of offensive production. This includes Andrew McCutchen who is hitting a measly .143 this month with 2 HR’s and 3 RBI’s and .211 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI’s overall. The Bucs currently rank 28th in baseball averaging 3.57 runs per game and 27th with a .223 team batting average.
Robbie Ray gets the nod today for the Diamondbacks and hopes to snap his three-game losing streak. Ray was hit hard in his previous start, allowing five runs in five innings to the Tigers and was charged with his third loss of the season. Ray has yet to defeat Pittsburgh in his career, going 0–2 with a 7.71 ERA in three starts.
Luckily for Ray, he has an offense that can rake which means they are always within striking distance. Paul Goldschmidt (.311, 8 HR, 29 RBI), Brandon Drury (.322, 3 HR, 14 RBI), Chris Owings (.307, 5 HR, 22 RBI) lead this offense which can be very dangerous for opposing pitchers. The Diamondbacks are scoring an average of 4.92 runs per game, ranking them 8th in the Majors, and own a .261 team batting average. The Arizona pitching has been strong, sporting a 3.80 team ERA, good for 10th in the Major Leagues.
Let’s lean on Ivan Nova and the Pirates +133 in today’s matchup. Nova has allowed three or fewer runs in six of his seven starts and features a dazzling 0.95 WHIP, which could give the Diamondbacks a tough time at the plate. Arizona is also 0–4 in Ray’s last four starts versus the NL Central and he has also allowed 12 runs in 14 career innings pitched vs the Pirates. Take Pittsburgh at plus money.
