8/3/14
Pirates @ Diamondbacks
Recommendation: Pirates -151
Lots of drama in this series as the Pirates look to win 3 ina row against the D’Backs today. Paul Goldschmidt suffered a broken right handon Friday when he was hit by Pittsburg reliever Ernesto Frieri. The Snakes retaliatedby hitting Andrew McCutchen in the 9th last night when they felt thegame was out of reach. McCutchen was not at all pleased after the game. Thefinale in this set seems intriguing and will have a very competitiveatmosphere.
Francisco Liriano is dealing right now. He’s had 2 straightstarts where he’s allowed only 4 hits and 1 earned run. He’s striking outbatters at a very high rate and has a 0.95 ERA in his last 3 starts. He can besomewhat unpredictable at times, but when he’s on his stuff is filthy so he’sdefinitely a “bet on” pitcher right now.
Trevor Cahill couldn’t be more opposite. It looks like thisguy’s days in the bigs may be numbered. He’s 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his last 3starts. Cahill didn’t pitch well in AAA Reno either. He struggles tremendouslywith his command, and if you can’t pitch decent on the farm, the majors isgoing to be a whole lot of trouble. We’ve already seen him look very belowaverage recently, so expect him to get raked again today. Cahill also struggleslifetime against the Pirates.
The D’Backs will be without their best player in Goldschmidtand just shipped off a few of their other top notch guys. The Bucs havemotivation after McCutchen got plunked, and they’re right behind the Brewers inthe NC Central. Expect to see a great effort from them today. Take the Pirates.