The MLB betting action continues with a 15-game Friday card, including the opening contest of a three-game series at American Family Field in Milwaukee, so we bring you the best Pirates vs Brewers betting pick and odds. 

According to BetOnline Sportsbook, the Brewers are firm -200 home favorites with a total of 8.5 runs, while the Pirates sit at +184 moneyline odds. These two NL Central foes have already met ten times this season, and the Brewers lead the series 8-2. 

The Pirates continue a tough 12-game road trip                                       

At the time of writing, the 33-48 Pittsburgh Pirates had a 3-1 lead over the Reds in the opening game of a twin-bill at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Bucs were looking to bounce back from an embarrassing 16-0 loss to the New York Yankees this past Wednesday, starting a tough 12-game road trip that will last until the All-Star. 

Pittsburgh has won four of its previous seven contests, including a couple of victories in a four-game home set against Milwaukee. On the last day of June, the Pirates outlasted the Brewers 8-7, and JT Brubaker took a win despite yielding four earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks across six frames of work. 

Brubaker will take the hill Friday and meet the Brewers for the third time this season. Back in April, the 28-year-old right-hander was charged for a loss in a 5-2 defeat at American Family Field while surrendering four runs (two earned) through five innings. Brubaker is 2-7 with a 4.28 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 82/33 K/BB ratio in 16 starts (82 innings) in 2022. 

The Brewers look to stop their two-game slide             

The Milwaukee Brewers are coming off a 2-1 series defeat to the Chicago Cubs. After winning Monday’s opener 5-2 in ten innings, the Brewers have dropped two straight games, 8-3 and 2-1, falling to 47-37 on the season. 

Milwaukee is still topping the AL Central, three games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers are scoring 4.56 runs per game (10th in the MLB) while surrendering 4.15 in a return (12th). They’ve compiled a .231/.322/.447 triple-slash, 3.33 ERA, and 1.24 WHIP in the last seven days. 

Aaron Ashby will get the ball Friday and face the Pirates for the third time in 2022. After pitching 5.2 frames of a one-run ball in a no-decision at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on April 27, Ashby was charged for a loss in a 7-4 road defeat to the Bucs last Saturday, allowing four runs through 3.2 innings of work. The 24-year-old left-hander is 1-6 with a troublesome 4.60 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in nine starts and six relief appearances (58.2 frames) this season. 

Trends:

Pittsburgh: 

  • 2-12 in the last 14 games on the road 
  • 4-15 in the last 19 games against Milwaukee 

Milwaukee:

  • 8-1 in the last nine home games against Pittsburgh 

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers Pick 

The current Brewers lineup has 22 hits, nine doubles, five home runs, and 16 RBIs in 91 at-bats against JT Brubaker, who’s allowed 19 runs on a whopping 42 hits and ten walks in his last six starts (34.1 innings). If Aaron Ashby starts to struggle, the Brewers will lean on their bullpen, which has a 3.67 ERA and 10.7 K/9 in the last ten days and 34.1 innings, so give me the hosts to win. 

The Pirates have a few solid arms in their bullpen, but it has registered a horrible 9.08 ERA and 6.87 FIP through its last 35.2 frames of work. 

Pick: Take Milwaukee Brewers at -200                                          

The Total:

The current Bucs have just six hits in 32 at-bats against Aaron Ashby, who’s yielded a thumping 18 earned runs in his last four starts (18.2 innings). Pittsburgh hit Ashby hard last weekend, so the Pirates should be able to muster a few runs this time around. 

If the starting duo continues to struggle, the Pirates and Brewers will combine for more than eight runs. Three of their last four encounters have produced runs in double digits. 

Pick: Go over 8.5 runs at -120