Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves predictions, picks and best bets

Esten McLaren | Sportsbook Wire

The Atlanta Braves (36-29) welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates (30-34) to SunTrust Park for a four-game set beginning Monday at 7:20 p.m. Eastern.

Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; for a full-set of today's sports odds, access them at Paste BN Sports.

Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves: Projected Starting Pitchers

Jun 5, 2019; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (59) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Pittsburgh won 7-4. (Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire - Paste BN Sports)

RHP Joe Musgrove vs. RHP Kevin Gausman

Musgrove is coming off one of his best starts of the season. He went a season-high eight innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs with six strikeouts against one walk. He had allowed 11 runs across 11 total innings in his two previous starts. The 26-year-old sports a 4.44 ERA through 73 innings. He's stranding just 58.6 percent of base runners while allowing a career-worst 37.5 percent rate of hard contact.

Last week's signing of Dallas Keuchel has put Gausman's long-term rotation spot in jeopardy. He allowed 15 runs in his last two starts, including seven given up to the Pirates in five innings his last time out.

Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves: By the Numbers

Pittsburgh took two of three in the first series between the two clubs at PNC Park earlier this season. The first two games played to the over and all three were decided by multiple runs.
The Braves have been the slightly better of the two teams against right-handed pitching. They sport a group OPS of .758 to the Pirates' .739 team rate.

The Pirates' bullpen is the third-worst in baseball with a collective ERA of 5.39 over 243 2/3 innings pitched. The Braves rank 15th as a group at 4.27.
The Braves are 16-15 at home this season but 14-17 against the spread. They've played to the higher number in 16 of 31 games at SunTrust. The Pirates are 19-14 ATS and 17-16 straight up on the road this year.

Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves: Key Injuries

Pirates C Francisco Cervelli remains sidelined due to a concussion.

Braves OF Ender Inciarte remains out of the lineup.

Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves: Picks and Betting Tips

</div> Moneyline: Take the value in Pittsburgh at +132 following its very recent domination of Gausman and the Braves (-152). Against the spread: The outright is a much better play than the -152 for the Pirates to cover +1.5. Each of the Braves' last two wins was by just a single run. Over/under: The UNDER on 9.5 pays out at the higher -104. Both teams have struggled to reach the projected total this season Follow Esten on Twitter <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/EstenMcLaren">@EstenMcLaren</a> MORE: <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/burmese-python-discovered-in-surprising-place/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Burmese python discovered in surprising place</a> <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/ufc-fighter-makes-opponent-flinch-by-screaming-in-his-face-during-staredown/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">UFC fighter makes opponent flinch by screaming in his face during staredown</a> <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/packers-eagles-goal-line-passes/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Packers' puzzling goal-line decisions end in disaster</a> <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/baker-mayfield-dunks-on-antonio-brown-on-instagram/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Baker Mayfield dunks on Antonio Brown on Instagram</a> <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/rangers-mike-minor-200th-strike-out-after-not-catching-foul-ball-on-purpose/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Rangers ripped for not catching easy foul ball so pitcher could reach milestone</a></body></html>

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