Baseball | Friday, May 12, 2023 10:26 AM

Baltimore Orioles vs Pittsburgh Pirates Best Bet: Buccs Offence in a Rut

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US Sports Expert

Baltimore Orioles vs Pittsburgh Pirates Best Bet: Friday, May 12th

The Buccs’ offense has taken a tumble of late, and now the Pirates have lost nine of their last ten games as they enter this Interleague series with the Orioles. Baltimore will play host to the Pirates for the next three days, and our resident baseball expert Ej Garr has his eyes on the handicap for their Friday night meeting at Oriole Park.

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Saturday, May 13th, 1:05 (UK time)

The Buccs’ offense has almost completely evaporated lately, and the great start to the 2023 campaign is starting to go in reverse for the Pirates. While still sporting a 21 – 17 record, had it not been for that hot start in April, this current run of losses over nine of their last ten games is making May a month to already forget and we’re only 12 days into it.

The only win the Pirates have captured since April 30th came on May 8 from a 2 – 0 victory that ended a 7-game losing skid. Despite taking the first game in the series against the Rockies, Colorado won the final two games of the series before the Pirates received a much-needed day off on Thursday.

The expected starters for this game are listed as Kyle Bradish for the Birds along with Johan Oviedo from the Buccs, and neither has exactly been on their game this campaign. Bradish has posted a 1 – 1 record with a 5.95 ERA this season, and his last three starts have all been rough outings. With a loss and a pair of no-decisions to show for those three starts, Bradish hasn’t made it past the 5th inning but in comes a struggling Pirate offense that could help matters.

Speaking of 3-straight poor efforts, Oviedo has also been hit quite hard in his last three efforts, and 19 earned runs over that span tell a big story. Oviedo’s last start saw him only record 15 outs against the Blue Jays while giving up 10 hits and 7 earned runs, so that is not a combination that breeds success in the least.

I am going to suggest we not bother with the pricey Moneyline offer on Baltimore, but rather make a play on the -1.5 handicap odds. At 2.24, there is a decent bit of meat on that bone to chew on and until the Buccs offense wakes up I am not about to let it keep rolling on without betting on it. Trends in baseball only matter if you catch them when they are happening, and right now the Pirates’ offense is a mess.

When you play 10 games and only score 15 runs, that tells me all I need to know as to where to toss our hard-earned money around, so make that -1.5 your best bet of the day.