Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cleveland Guardians Betting Pick & Prediction 9/1/24

From Progressive Field in Cleveland, we have the Pirates and Guardians facing off in an interleague matchup. First pitch for Sunday’s matchup is set for 1:40 PM ET. SN PT is carrying the game on TV.

The Guardians are the heavy favorite on the money line, with their odds sitting at -149 compared to the Pirates at +126. Sunday’s over/under line is sitting at 8 runs, and Alex Cobb is starting for the Guardians, while the Pirates are going with Mitch Keller.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS VS PITTSBURGH PIRATES BETTING PICK

The Pick: Cleveland Guardians Moneyline -149

This game will be played at Progressive Field at 1:40 ET on Sunday, September 1st.

HOW TO BET THE PIRATES VS GUARDIANS:

• We have the Guardians winning by a score of 6 to 4
• If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Guardians to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 10 runs and like the over

Pittsburgh picked up a 3-0 win over the Guardians in the most recent game of this series. The Pirates offense only had three more hits than the Guardians and struck out 11 times, but still picked up a convincing win. Heading into the game, they were at +165 on the money line.

This game featured a starting pitching matchup between Luis L. Ortiz for the Pirates and Matthew Boyd for the Guardians. Ortiz went six innings and didn’t give up a run, picking up a win in the game. Boyd also had a good outing, giving up just one earned run in six innings of work.

Pittsburgh’s two biggest hitters in the game were Nick Gonzales and Oneil Cruz. Gonzales went 3/5 with two runs scored, while Cruz was 2/4 with an RBI. Rowdy Tellez also had a two RBI game at the plate.

Pirates Records & Stats

Pittsburgh is 63-72 overall and is 16.5 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. The Pirates are also 20-19 against other teams in the NL Central. The Pirates will be playing on the road today, and they are 31-36 on the road compared to 32-36 at home.

As the road underdog, the Pirates have gone 21-30 this year, and they are 36-48 as the underdog overall. Pittsburgh has been just above .500 this year when favored, coming in with a mark of 27-24. The Pirates are also just 4-6 over their last ten games and are tied in their series vs. the Guardians.

When it comes to betting the run line, the Pirates have been a solid choice this season, as they have gone 75-60 against the run line. Their average run margin for the season is -0.3, but they have fared better on the road, where their run line record is 41-26. They have been a better bet as the underdog, going 56-28 against the run line. In their wins, they have an average run margin of 3.2, while in their losses, it drops to -3.5.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road today against the Cleveland Guardians. The over/under line for the game is set at 8 runs. The Pirates have played 133 games this season, and their average combined run total is 8.8. Their over/under record is 66-67, and their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs. When the line has been set at 8 runs, their over/under record is 14-15. The majority of their games this season have had over/under lines set at 8 runs or higher, with 70 games (51.9%) having lines over 8 runs, while only 36 games (26.7%) have had lines set at less than 8 runs.

Pittsburgh is sending Mitch Keller to the mound today, and he comes in with a record of 11-8 and an ERA of 3.84. Keller’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.24. In his 26 starts, he has turned in 13 quality starts and one complete game. Keller’s last outing came against the Cubs, where he took the loss, going four innings and giving up three earned runs. Before that, he had won two straight starts. One of those wins came on the road, where he is 6-5 with a 5.36 ERA compared to 5-3 with a 3.15 ERA at home.

Heading into today’s game, the Pirates offense is averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 20th in the MLB. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and team slugging percentage. However, the Pirates do have a few hitters who have been swinging the bat well of late. Oneil Cruz is hitting .432 over his last nine games, and Bryan Reynolds has gone 11/35 in his last nine games.

Reynolds is the Pirates’ top hitter for the season, batting .282 with 21 homers and 74 RBIs. Not only is his batting average the best on the team, but he also leads the Pirates in runs batted in. Bryan De La Cruz is 2nd on the team with 19 homers but has a batting average of just .240 for the season.

Guardians Records & Stats

Cleveland is hosting the Pirates today with an overall record of 77-59, which has them leading the AL Central by 2.5 games. The Guardians are 22-20 against other teams in the division and are currently trying to bounce back after going 4-6 over their last 10 games.

The Guardians have been good at home this year, coming in with a record of 42-25, which is just above .500 at 35-34 on the road. So far, they have been really good as the favorite, going 54-30, and they are 37-18 as the favorite at home. Cleveland’s overall series record is 24-14-5 this year.

When the Cleveland Guardians are the favorite, they have gone 37-47 against the run line. They have a run line record of 30-22 when they are the underdog. Their average run differential in winning games is 3.3 runs, while their average run differential in losing games is -3.2 runs. Overall, their run line record is 67-69, with an average run differential of +0.5 runs per game.

Today’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and Pittsburgh Pirates features an over/under line of 8 runs. The Guardians’ games have averaged 8.6 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 65-62. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, their record is 13-13-5. Overall, 47.1% of their games this season have had over/under lines set higher than 8 runs.

Alex Cobb will be getting the start for the Guardians at home against the Pirates. In his first outing of the season, Cobb picked up a win vs. the Cubs, going 5 2/3 innings and allowing 1 earned run. He followed that up with a loss to the Twins, where he struck out 9 but gave up 4 runs.

Heading into the game, Josh Naylor is on a three-game hitting streak and has gone 7/20 in his last five games with six RBIs. For the season, he is batting .241 with 28 homers, which is 8th in the league, and 98 RBIs, which is 3rd in the MLB. José Ramírez has been the Guardians’ top hitter this season, batting .274 with 33 homers and 104 RBIs, which is 2nd in the league. He is also 5th in the league in home runs.

As a team, the Guardians are 13th in the league in scoring at 4.5 runs per game. While they are batting just .238 as a team, this is 14th in the league. Cleveland is 6th in the league in home runs and have been good at avoiding strikeouts this season.