The Cleveland Indians (15-9) and Pittsburgh Pirates (4-16) close out a three-game series Thursday at PNC Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET. We analyze Thursday’s Indians-Pirates MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Series so far: The Indians have taken the first two contests 6-3 and 6-1.
Indians at Pirates: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Shane Bieber at RHP Trevor Williams
Bieber is making a strong case for the AL Cy Young Award: 4-0, 1.30 ERA, 54:6 K:BB
- Last start: 8/15, W … 7 shutout IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 11 K at Detroit Tigers
- Career in road starts: 19-5, 2.92 ERA in 31 G (30 GS)
Williams in 2020: 1-3, 3.98 ERA, 18:6 K:BB
- Last start: 8/13, W … 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 4 K at Cincinnati Reds
- Career at PNC Park: 15-15, 3.79 ERA in 50 G (44 GS)
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Indians at Pirates: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Indians
- C Sandy Leon (personal) out on family medical emergency list
Pirates
- RP Kyle Crick (shoulder) out
- SP Joe Musgrove (triceps) out
- SP Mitch Keller (oblique) out
Also see: BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
Indians at Pirates: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 1:20 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Indians 6, Pirates 2
Bieber is a force and should easily dispatch one of the majors’ worst teams, especially considering their league-worst .582 OPS at home. Cleveland is 9-5 on the road (and rank seventh with a 1.3 average margin of victory in that split, per TeamRankings), and the Pirates are 2-8 at PNC Park.
Unfortunately, as you’ll soon see, the books strongly agree that Cleveland should control this one.
Moneyline (ML)
- Indians (-250)
- Pirates (+225)
I hate betting a favorite with a negative line stronger than -200. PASS.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
- Indians -2.5 (+105)
- Pirates +2.5 (-125)
I’ll work the major advantage here to at least double-up. BET Indians -2.5 (+105).
New to sports betting? A winning $10 bet on the Indians -2.5 (+105) would return a profit of $10.50.
Over/Under (O/U)
- Over 7.5 (-115)
- Under 7.5 (-106)
Though I predicted a total of eight runs, I could easily see the Pirates failing, even more, to hold up their end of the bargain. Still, there’s not much reward here. PASS.
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