Today's Pick: TOR (-175) over PIT
It's an 11:35 PM CDT first pitch at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA -- game three of a three game set between the Pirates and the Blue Jays. They split the first two and will play this one for the series.
Chris Bassitt starts for Toronto. Bassitt hasn't pitched well away from the Rogers Centre, posting a 6.39 ERA over 56.1 innings in road starts on the season. It's normally the kind of split that would have me laying off the Blue Jays today but Bassitt is tough on right-handed hitters and the Pirates don't have the personnel to stack their lineup with lefties. I like Bassitt to have a good start today against the Bucs.
Johan Oviedo starts for Pittsburgh. Oveido has only thrown 27.0 innings total this season, 26.0 of those innings have been in the minor leagues. He'll get a Blue Jays team that can hit one through nine. Oviedo missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He hasn't faced a lineup like this since the '23 season. I wouldn't be surprised to see Oviedo knocked out of this game early. The Pirates bullpen is fairly depleted and they won't have much to rely on if Oviedo struggles early.
Toronto's bullpen is one of the best in MLB. They'll have Fisher, Little, Rodriguez and Dominguez all available on a days rest. While they will certainly be looking for six innings out of Bassitt, they have the arms in the bullpen to bring this game home should Bassitt need to be relieved early.
The Blue Jays are a better team. They'll have an edge with the starting pitching matchup, the bullpen and the bats today. It's a home game for the Pirates but PNC Park will be empty on Wednesday morning. The Pirates have a hard time drawing fans on Friday night let alone a day game midweek. I'd expect the ballpark to be fairly empty today. I'm not sure that bodes well for either team but it isn't much of an advantage to the Pirates who host the Rockies this weekend. I get the sense that they are already looking forward to the day off and could be more than a little sleepy today.
I'm going to bet 1.0 units on the Blue Jays and I like the price at (-175).
Today's Pick: TOR (-175) over PIT
Units in Play: 1.00 units
Units Wagered: 1.00 units
Ticket Pays: 1.57 units (+0.57 units)
Current Streak: 0
Longest Streak: 6
Total Units Wagered (Season): 121.92 units
Current Bank Balance: 6 units
Beginning Bank Balance: 40 units
Total Units Raked (season): 32 units
Profit / Loss (season): -2.0 units
Overall Record: 51-29