Pirates vs. Dodgers MLB Picks and Predictions

Pittsburgh and Los Angeles are polar opposites when it comes to scoring runs, and the MLB betting odds reflect that when the Pirates and Dodgers tangle on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Tuesday, August 17, 2021 – 10:10 PM EDT at Dodger Stadium

Pittsburgh and Los Angeles opened the series Monday, and it was the Dodgers on the good side of the MLB score with a 2-1 decision. Manager Dave Roberts used a half-dozen pitchers in keeping up with the times, and the triumph LA’s 14th in a row over the Pirates. The Dodgers swept three at PNC Park back in June, totals running 1-2 O/U, and the ‘under’ in Game 1 went against the norm for games in Los Angeles where five of the previous six were ‘over’ winners.

Considering the two sides are 31-games apart in the standings and given the Dodgers’ recent domination in the rivalry, it’s no surprise to see (visit our BetOnline Review) throwing down an extra thick -295 chalk line on Los Angeles on Tuesday. Wil Crowe (3-7, 5.27) will start for Pittsburgh opposite David Price (4-1, 3.60), and a 9-run total awaits scoreboard bettors.

https://youtu.be/DBLXABtw2Wc

‘Under’ Cashes in Six of Bucs’ Last Eight

This is the first to Dodger Stadium for the Pirates since April 2019, and they have had trouble scoring for about that long as well. Pittsburgh is dead last in the NL averaging 3.60 runs per game, which is actually fewer than a season ago when the Pirates also finished last in the Senior Circuit with a 3.65 RPG clip.

After coming out of the all-star break with the Pirates winning his first three starts, Crowe has dropped each of his two August assignments. The rookie was on the hill last Wednesday in Pittsburgh and would’ve had to have been almost perfect to beat Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals who sailed to a 4-0 triumph. Just one run crossed the plate while Crowe worked into the fifth inning, way better than the previous outing when he served up three home run balls and seven runs – 3 earned – in a 7-4 loss at Cincinnati.

Crowe has never faced the Dodgers, and none of their hitters have seen the former South Carolina Gamecock. The road has not been kind to Crowe, Pittsburgh somehow winning three of his eight away starts despite the 26-year-old posting a 6.23 ERA in the 39 innings.

https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/1427506319922057216?s=20

Muncy Heating Up for LA

On the other end of the scoring spectrum in the National League are the Dodgers. Los Angeles ranks at the top of the chart crossing the plate 5.22 times per contest, and tied for third with 167 home runs. Max Muncy has been behind the current 4-game win streak with a 4-game hit streak of his own. His 8th-inning home run on Monday provided the game winner, and came just one day after cracking two long balls against the Mets on Sunday.

In so many ways, Price has become the posterchild for the new state of starting pitching: Work twice through the batting order and then take a seat. Price didn’t even make a full two circuits through the Philadelphia lineup last Wednesday, going four innings and allowing two runs on 51 tosses. The end result, however, was exactly what the Dodgers were looking for in an 8-2 win as -125 favorites at top sportsbooks.

That was the first time in Price’s last seven starting assignments for the Dodgers to pull into the winner’s circle, stretching all the way back to a May 27th outing against the Giants. You have to go all the way back to June 2014 to find the last – and only – time Price started against the Pirates. He worked two shutout innings from the bullpen when the clubs met in Pittsburgh earlier this season, allowing a single and hitting one batter.

Umpire Notes, Tinseltown Forecast and a Free Pick

A part-timer now working his third major league season, John Bacon should be at the dish for Tuesday’s tilt. The Ohio native has just 15 games of experience calling balls and strikes across pats of three seasons, and is 3-1 O/U in his four plate assignments this season. This will be Bacon’s first game behind the mask at Dodger Stadium.

A nice, sunny day is in store for the LA area, the thermometer climbing into the mid-80s during the afternoon and still in the upper-70s at game time. A light breeze from the SW (out to right) is in the forecast for first pitch. Anyone who has been following my free MLB picks over the years already knows the chalk on the Dodgers is too high for my taste, yet I’m not about to bet against their run in the rivalry. Instead, I’ll play it to the low side of the total.

MLB Pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.