I’m not going to sit here and try to sell you on the importance of a game between two teams that seem to have last place locked up in their respective divisions. However, the Orioles have been playing better as of late, winning five of their six contests in September against playoff-bound NL West competition.
Can Baltimore keep the good times rolling with Pittsburgh in town? Let’s preview this interleague matchup with the help of some odds and lines on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Pirates vs. Orioles prediction, preview
There’s a lot for the Orioles to be optimistic about heading into 2026, and Kyle Bradish’s name might be right at the top of that list. Bradish was simply one of the best pitchers in baseball from 2023 to 2024, before requiring Tommy John surgery. In the 38 starts that the RHP made in that span of time, Bradish posted a 2.81 ERA that was the fourth-lowest mark in the league among starters with at least 200 innings thrown. He trailed only Reynaldo Lopez, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell. Pretty good company.
In the two outings Bradish has made since coming off the IL, the stuff has looked fantastic, as the 28-year-old has struck out 15 opponents across 10.0 innings with a 13.9% swinging strike rate. A 2.37 xERA in a sample that small might not mean all that much, but when juxtaposed to Bradish’s past success, it’s easy to see how dominant the right-hander has the potential to be. I expect we’ll see another glimpse of that talent on Tuesday evening. The Pirates have been a little better at scoring runs in the season’s second-half, yet this is still one of MLB’s least dangerous lineups. Going back to the All-Star break, Pittsburgh ranks 29th in ISO (.133) and 25th in wRC+ (92).
The Pirates have a promising RHP of their own taking the mound in this tilt, as Mike Burrows is set to make his 17th start of 2025, and his first since August 23. The rookie’s numbers as a starter aren’t anything to write home about — Burrows possesses a 4.36 ERA and 4.42 FIP within the split — yet the 25-year-old has also managed well over a strikeout per inning at the MLB level. With Adley Rutschman (oblique), Jordan Westburg (ankle) and Tyler O’Neill (wrist) all on the IL, the Orioles are currently operating with one of baseball’s youngest lineups. There’s a lot of potential present, but this is also a squad that almost got no-hit less than a week ago. “Inconsistent” is probably the right word to describe Baltimore at the moment and Burrows could take advantage.
Pirates vs. Orioles pick, best bet
Best Bet: Kyle Bradish Over 15.5 Outs Recorded (+120)
Bradish has yet to throw more than 84 pitches in a start, but he did go six innings in his first appearance of 2025.
Strong Lean: Under 8 (-111)
Both pitchers are solid and both teams rank in the lower-third of the league in batting average across the past 30 days. 56.8% of Pirates games have gone under in 2025 — the third-highest mark in MLB.
