The Pirates and Giants get ready to play the second game of the series in Tuesday night’s late game. Pittsburgh posted an 8-5 victory in the series opener to remain one game behind Miami and St. Louis for the second wild-card spot in the National League while San Francisco fell to 1-3 on its 10-game homestand seeing its lead over the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West be cut down to one-half game. Keep reading for the game preview.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants
- Time: Tuesday, August 16, 2016 10:15 PM ET
- Betting Odds:
- Pirates -103
- Giants -107
- Total: 8
Bet on the Pirates – Jameson Taillon (R)
In winning seven of their last ten games, the Pirates are on a hot streak which gives them plenty of momentum to win the second game of this series. Pittsburgh has scored 23 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in five straight games and their offense has picked up plenty of steam winning six of their last seven games when scoring more than three runs. Gregory Polanco punched in a go-ahead two-run single in the fourth inning as well as a two-run homer in the sixth to complete his first multi-hit performance since going 4-for-5 against Seattle back in July.
Starting for the Pirates tonight will be right-hander Jameson Taillon, who is 3-2 with a 2.85 ERA. Taillon played well against San Diego on Thursday, managing to spread out three hits over eight scoreless innings while walking two that resulted in the victory. It’s the sixth straight outing in which the 24-year-old Floridian got at least six frames and fourth time in that span the rookie allowed fewer than two runs.
Bet on the Giants - Jeff Samardzija (R)
The Giants are in somewhat of a slump, losing five of their last eight games and having allowed 18 runs in their last three games with five or more runs in four of their last seven games. Denard Span has been one of the few shiners for the Giants during this stretch of home games, going 6-for-20 with a homer and six RBIs. Following this home series, San Francisco heads to Los Angeles for a three-game showdown for the top spot in the division.
Jeff Samardzija gets the nod to start and is 10-8 with a 4.23 ERA. Samardzija is coming off a strong performance against Miami, scattering three hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings that resulted in a victory. The 31-year-old gave up at least four runs in seven of his previous eight outings, yielding five or more five times during that span.
Betting Trends:
- Pittsburgh is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
- Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Francisco's last 9 games at home
- San Francisco is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing Pittsburgh
- San Francisco is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Game Prediction: Pirates win the second game as well.