Earlier this week, we were foiled by the Pirates when they knocked around sizzling starter Eduardo Rodriguez in a surprising 8-0 win.
I’d be shocked if we saw the same result on Friday against Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen, who’s favored to win his first Cy Young award after a stellar first quarter of the MLB season.
As of Thursday, Gallen led all qualified starters in fWAR (2.6) and FIP (1.79), and his sterling ERA (2.35) was the third-best of anyone with at least 55 innings pitched.
Pirates vs. Diamondbacks pick
(6:35 p.m. Eastern)
He’s also striking out batters at a higher rate (32.1 percent) than any point in his career, ranking fifth in called strike plus whiff rate (31 percent) and 10th in first-pitch strike rate (69.3 percent).
Even his latest start came with concern, as he set a new season high in walks (five).
With that, he now has more walks (12) than strikeouts (11) over his last four starts, which further casts doubt on his strong but unsustainable start to the season.
Betting on Baseball?
Arizona’s lineup isn’t elite, but Pirates starter Johan Oviedo’s wild command (5.14 ERA) should lead to a couple of runs (or more) on Friday.
That should be more than enough to support Gallen against a Pittsburgh lineup that’s plated two or fewer runs in 11 of its last 15 games.
Pirates vs. Diamondbacks prediction
Diamondbacks moneyline (-170, FanDuel)
