The Colorado Rockies and the Pittsburgh Pirates begin their first MLB betting series of the season tonight.
Time: 7:05 PM
Venue: PNC Park
Sportsbook odds for fans who bet on baseball:
Rockies +1½ (-185) 9 (-110) +123
Pirates -1½ (+160) 9 (-110) -133
Colorado
On the mound: Kyle Freeland (LHP, 7-3, 3.34 ERA, 44 K) allowed one run and six hits and stroke out five in 6 1/3 innings in his previous start versus Cleveland. He was pulled at 100 throws, though he wanted to reach the seventh inning. Freeland is 4-0 with a 3.18 ERA in six road starts, and has won his past three road starts with a 4.58 ERA. However, he walked eight in 17 2/3 innings in that period. Freeland’s 59.3% ground-ball rate ranks second in the National League.
Trends for fans who bet on baseball: The Rockies have won and covered in seven of their last eight games, and have gone 5-1 straight-up and against the spread in their last five on the road. In addition to that, they have won eight of their last games when Freeland starts.The MLB betting total has gone under in 80% of Colorado’s last five games and under in four of the Rockies’ last five road games.
Pittsburgh
On the mound: Jameson Taillon (RHP, 2-1, 3.31 ERA, 30 K) will make his first start since undergoing surgery for testicular cancer on May 8th – just five days after his last start against the Reds. Taillon was hitting the edges of the strike zone with 42.9% of his throws – the third-highest rate of 184 qualified pitchers with at least 500 thrown pitches.
The 25-year-old’s recovery – during which he received support messages from other cancer survivors such as fellow pitcher Chad Bettis and professional cheater former road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong – went better than expected. Only a month ago he was hanging on for good news from doctors at Allegheny General Hospital, and now he’s ready to pick up right where he left off.
Taillon threw 97 pitches in six innings in his last rehab start for Triple-A Indianapolis, giving up five runs and striking out nine. He hopes to benefit from this surgery as much or even more than he did from TJS in 2014-15.
“I’m excited. It’s been an interesting process for everybody — not something we saw coming into my 2017 season. I’m excited to pitch,” he said. “After this right here, I really want to be a pitcher again. Just want to be a guy on the team making starts and doing my job.”
Trends for fans who bet on baseball: The Bucs have lost two thirds of their last 15 games and one third of their last six at home, and have covered in just two of their last six and in 2% of their last 10 home games. Moreover, they are 9-2 in their last 11 visits to Colorado. The MLB betting total has gone under in four of the Pirates’ last five outings at PNC Park.