Heading into game three of this National League matchup, it will be Quinn Priester on the mound for the Pirates (51-62, 27-29 home), facing off against the Braves (71-40, 34-20 away) and Max Fried. Find out my prediction for today’s Atlanta Braves vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game in Pittsburgh.

ATLANTA BRAVES VS PITTSBURGH PIRATES BETTING PICK

The Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates +232

This game will be played at PNC Park at 7:05 ET on Wednesday, August 9th.

WHY BET THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES:

  • In their previous ten games, the Pirates have a record of 6-4.
  • The Braves are just 2-3 in their last five road games.
  • The Pirates are 2-0 in Quinn Priester’s last two starts.

CAN THE ATLANTA BRAVES PULL OUT A WIN AS ROAD FAVORITES?

The Braves enter today’s action with an overall record of 71-40, putting them in first place in the NL East. So far, they have put together a 37-20 record at home and 34-20. Atlanta’s overall series record stands at 25-9-2.

Max Fried is set to make his seventh start of the 2023 season today. He has a 3-1 record and an impressive 1.69 ERA, with an opposing batting average of .242. The southpaw has struck out 33 batters while maintaining a WHIP of .97. On the road, Fried’s ERA is a remarkable .68, compared to 3.75 at home.

Max Fried earned a quality start and a victory in his last outing against the Cubs, as the Braves cruised to an 8-0 win. Fried was dominant on the mound, surrendering no runs and just three hits over six innings of work.

Having gone deep 20 times in their last ten games, the Braves are 1st in that span. At 5.7 runs per game, Atlanta is 3rd in the league. This figure has come on a team batting average of .271 while hitting a total of 215 home runs (1st).

This season, Ronald Acuña Jr. has been a force to be reckoned with at the plate, hitting 26 home runs and boasting a slugging percentage of .587 and BA of .339. Despite his impressive performance, Acuña Jr. is listed as questionable on the injury report ahead of tonight’s game.

WILL THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

113 games into the season, the Pirates have a record of 51-62, putting them 4th in the NL Central. This mark includes an overall series 12-20-4. At home, they are 27-29 compared to 24-33 on the road.

Quinn Priester has had a mixed start to his 2023 season. He holds an overall record of 2-1 and an ERA of 8.70, with a WHIP of 1.78 and .269 batting average allowed. On the road, he has put together a mark of 1-0 and ERA of 6.75, while at home he is 1-1 with an ERA of 1.41. Opponents have managed a slugging percentage of .564 against him so far this year.

Quinn Priester’s most recent outing against the Brewers saw him surrender three runs and five hits, but he was not involved in the final decision as the Pirates went on to win 8-4.

Offensively, Pittsburgh is ranked 23rd in the league with an average of 4.2 runs per game. When looking over their last five matchups, the Pirates averaged 5.4 runs per contest, which is 6th best in that span. In terms of their power numbers, Pittsburgh is 19th in all of baseball, with a total of 113 home runs.

Jack Suwinski has been the Pirates’ go-to power hitter this season, leading the team with 21 home runs and 53 RBIs. His slugging percentage of .466 is indicative of his prowess at the plate.