Tigers vs. Pirates: Picks, predictions, how to watch Wednesday’s game

The Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates square off on Wednesday with first pitch set for 12:35 p.m. ET. The game takes place at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. The Tigers will start with Alex Faedo on the mound with the Pirates turning to Mitch Keller.

Detroit (22-33) picked up a 5-3 victory over the Pirates last night after getting swept by the New York Yankees over the weekend. Faedo made six starts this season as a rookie and will go in with a 3.09 ERA. The Tigers have the worst offense in baseball, averaging just 2.8 runs per game, but Miguel Cabrera is having another big season at age 39 with a .298 batting average.

Pittsburgh (24-29) won the final two games of their weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks before last night’s loss. Keller made 10 appearances and eight starts in 2022 and will go in with a 5.77 ERA. The Pirates have not been a whole lot better at the plate, coming in with the 28th best offense in runs per game, and Ke’Bryan Hayes has a .376 on-base percentage heading into Wednesday afternoon.

Tigers vs. Pirates

Pitchers: Alex Faedo vs. Mitch Keller
First pitch: 12:35 p.m. ET
Tigers local broadcast: Bally Sports Detroit
Pirates local broadcast: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)

Odds, picks & predictions

Run line: Tigers -1.5 (+165)
Run total: 8
Moneyline odds: Pirates -115, Tigers -105

Moneyline pick: Tigers -105

Detroit is the slightest of underdogs in this matchup, and that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. This is a matchup between two lineups considered among the worst in the MLB, but Faedo has been impressive since making his MLB debut. He threw at least 5 innings in all six starts and has yet to allow more than 2 runs in a single outing.

Player prop pick: Mitch Keller Under 4.5 strikeouts (-140)

Detroit is slightly worse than average compared to the rest of the league in strikeouts per game, but Keller is not an elite strikeout pitcher. Keller reached 5 strikeouts in just three outings this season, and I’ll bet he falls short of that number once again.

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