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The San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates square off on Saturday with first pitch set for 4:05 p.m. ET. The game takes place at PNC Park in Pittsburgh and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. It will be a battle of left-handers on the mound between the Giants’ Alex Wood and the Pirates’ Jose Quintana.
San Francisco heads into Saturday’s matchup having won six of their last seven games, including a 2-0 win Friday night over Pittsburgh in the first game of this series. Carlos Rodón dominated Pittsburgh as he pitched through eight nearly perfect innings, striking out eight Pirates by the end of the night. The Giants sit at 36-27 and third in the NL West standings, firmly in the mix for a wild card postseason spot.
The Pirates, on the contrary, are reeling having experienced a nine-game losing streak prior to snapping it with a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday. Pittsburgh has struggled at the plate with a .210 batting average that is second-to-last in baseball, while the pitching staff could also stand to improve (4.50 ERA, 25th in the league).
Giants vs. Pirates
Pitchers: Alex Wood vs. Jose Quintana
First pitch: 4:05 p.m. ET
Giants local broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Pirates local broadcast: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Odds, picks & predictions
Run line: Giants -1.5 (-110)
Run total: 8.5
Moneyline odds: Giants -175, Pirates +150
Moneyline pick: Giants -175
San Francisco heads into this matchup as the heavy betting favorites given its 4-1 record over the last five games and +9 positive run differential. Pittsburgh has been struggling on the contrary, dropping four of its last five games. Wood’s overall stats may not jump off the page but he heads into Saturday coming off two quality starts. I like the Giants here.
Player prop pick: Alex Wood over 5.5 strikeouts (-105)
Wood is coming off two solid starts for San Francisco with five strikeouts in each outing. Combined with Pittsburgh’s struggles at the plate, we’re taking the over on 5.5 strikeouts for Wood.
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