- The Phillies and Pirates match up against one another on Saturday, July 29th
- Owning the head-to-head matchups lately, Philly has taken nine of 11 from Pittsburgh
- Check out the Phillies and Pirates odds below, as well as our prediction and player prop picks
What a difference a couple of months can make. As the season continue to go deeper into the summer, the Pirates (45-58, 23-27 home) woes continue, while the Phillies (56-47, 28-27 away) now find themselves in a playoff spot after starting the year poorly.
Back on June 4th, it was the Bucs who held down the final wildcard spot, with a record of 31-27, but since then they’ve gone 14-31, with only the Royals owning a worse winning percentage during that span. Meanwhile, the Phillies have surged, sporting a 29-15 mark during that same period.
A rain delayed series opener was won 2-1 by Philly on Friday and here we highlight their next game on Saturday, July 29th with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm ET. For the latest Phillies vs Pirates odds, check out the table below before we offer up some analysis leading to our best bet and picks for this matchup.
Phillies vs Pirates Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | -170 | -1.5 (-105) | O 9 (-110) |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | +150 | +1.5 (-115) | U 9 (-110) |
To no one’s surprise given the way each side has performed over the last couple of months, the Phillies are solid -170 road favorites to make it two for two against Pittsburgh this season. They have a 62.96% implied win probability for Saturday’s contest.
Once again, there is a high expectation for rain in the early evening in Pittsburgh on Saturday, but hopefully, the wet weather will all be done by the time the first pitch will be thrown out. Forecasts are calling for temperatures in the high 70s during game time.
Odds as of June 28th at bet365. For some great offers for your MLB bets take a look at our bet365 bonus code page.
Philadelphia vs Pittsburgh Probable Pitchers
In the last season of a five-year contract, career Philly Aaron Nola has battled his way to a 9-6 record this campaign. He was outstanding in his first two playoff starts last year before falling off in the League Championship and World Series, and there are questions about whether he’ll be back next season.
Undoubtedly, the Phillies will need him to be better if they’re going to be taken seriously in the World Series odds. They are now considered a top 10 contender after owning odds longer than +3000 in early June.
Nola remains the workhorse of the staff, eating up innings and giving the bullpen a rest almost everytime out. He’s thrown at least seven innings in three of his last four starts, with Philly winning three of those games. In his last five road outings, the Phillies have a 4-1 team record.
Nola vs Priester Stats
| 9-6 | Record | 1-1 |
| 4.25 | ERA | 9.28 |
| 1.07 | WHIP | 1.50 |
| .224 | OBA | .256 |
| 4.4 | SO/W Ratio | 1.2 |
For the Pirates, recently promoted right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester will make his third career start. MLB starting lineups are quite different from the minors, as he found out in his big league debut getting shellacked for seven runs and two homers in an 11-0 loss to the Guardians.
He did recover enough to pitch his team to victory his last time out, working into the sixth inning and giving up four earned to notch his first career win. The long ball has hurt him in his first two starts as he’s given up four bombs in 10 and two-thirds innings of work.
Phillies vs Pirates Player Prop Picks
In his first full season in the majors, Bryson Stott has been as steady as they come for the Phillies. Batting over .300 he has ranked top 10 in that category for the majority of the campaign. Putting up multiple hits in eight of 21 games this month, put some money on the second basemen to do go over 1.5 base hits against a rookie pitcher.
Bryson Stott in his second MLB season (96 games so far):
▪️ .300 BA
▪️ .342 OBP
▪️ .430 SLG
▪️ 9 HR
▪️ 18 2B
▪️ 37 RBI
▪️ 19 SB (21 attempts)
▪️ .990 Fld%
▪️ 3.2 WAR (team high)— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) July 28, 2023
Nola has averaged almost eight punch outs per game this month and has struck out at least six batter in every appearance. Following a night where rotation member Zack Wheeler whiffed 11 Pirates, we think there’s easy money to be made by picking Nola to strike out at least six Bucs, so target him to go have over 5.5 strikeouts.
Phillies vs Pirates Predictions
No offense to the Pirates, but having the Phillies pay -105 on the run line in the MLB odds feels like easy money, so our pick and prediction if to lay money on Philadelphia before the line moves.
Pittsburgh has scored just five runs in their last three games and prior to Friday night, each of their last eight losses and 14 of their 15 defeats this month have come by at least two runs.
When I see the pirates lose 100 games for the 3 year in a row pic.twitter.com/z7jgrMMugC
— Stardust Redding ⭐️ (@StardustRedding) July 22, 2023
Overall, the Pirates are a lowly 6-16 in July and before the series opener against Philly, their last eight losses had come by an average of 4.6 runs, so we like the Phillies to roll.
Pick: Philadelphia Phillies Run Line -1.5 (-105)
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The post Phillies vs Pirates Odds, Picks & Props to Target (July 29) appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.
