Pittsburgh Pirates at Detroit Tigers 3/31/2018 Free MLB Picks and Predictions

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Comerica Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Trevor Williams vs. Michael Fulmer

The Pittsburgh Pirates visit Comerica Park on Saturday, March 31, 2018 to play the Detroit Tigers. The probable starters are Trevor Williams for the Pirates and Michael Fulmer for the Tigers.

The opening line for this matchup has Pittsburgh at +120 and Detroit at -130. The Pirates had a 63-93-6 over/under record and a 87-75-0 run line mark last season. The Tigers were 73-89-0 against the run line and had a 87-68-7 over/under record.

Valuable Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Pirates were 63-93-6 against the over/under last year

The Pittsburgh Pirates were 87-75-0 against the run line last season

Important Detroit Tigers Betting Trends

The Detroit Tigers were 87-68-7 against the over/under last year

The Detroit Tigers were 73-89-0 against the run line last season

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

03/26/18 P A.J. Schugel Shoulder 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Nick Burdi Elbow 60-day DL (03/26)

Key Detroit Tigers Injuries

03/26/18 P Johnny Barbato Elbow 10-day DL (03/26)
03/26/18 P Mike Fiers Back 10-day DL (03/26)

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Pirates had a 75-87 overall record last season. Starting pitcher Trevor Williams had a 7-9 record with an earned run average of 4.07 and a WHIP of 1.31. He had 117 strikeouts over his 150.1 innings pitched and he gave up 145 hits. He allowed 8.7 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 4.03. The bullpen had an earned run average of 3.84 and they gave up 520 base hits on the year. Teams hit .246 against the bullpen while striking out 495 hitters and walking 214 batters. As a team, Pittsburgh allowed 9.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.9 batters per nine innings. They were 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.22. The Pirates pitchers collectively gave up 1,464 base hits and 676 earned runs last year. They allowed 182 home runs last season, ranking them 27th in the league. Pittsburgh as a pitching staff walked 511 batters and struck out 1,262. They walked 3.2 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.9 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.37 and their FIP as a unit was 4.23.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Pittsburgh hit .244, good for 27th in the league. The Pirates held a .386 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which was good for 21st in baseball. They ranked 26th in MLB with 8.2 hits per game. Josh Bell hit .255 with an on-base percentage of .334 last year. He had 140 hits last season in 549 at bats with 90 runs batted in. He had a slugging percentage of .466 and an OPS+ of 108. Josh Harrison hit .272 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .339. He totaled 132 hits and he drove in 47 men in 486 at bats. His OPS+ was 101 while his slugging percentage was at .432. The Pirates had 1,331 hits last season, including 249 doubles and 151 home runs. Pittsburgh walked 519 times last year and they struck out 1,213 times as a unit. They left 1,129 men on base and had a team OPS of .704. They scored 4.12 runs per contest and scored a total of 668 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Detroit had a 64-98 overall mark last year. With an earned run average of 3.83, Michael Fulmer had a 10-12 record and a 1.15 WHIP. He had 114 strikeouts over the 164.2 innings he pitched. He also gave up 150 hits. He allowed 8.2 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.67. The bullpen had an earned run average of 5.70 and they gave up 589 base hits on the year. Teams hit .279 against the Tigers bullpen. Their relievers struck out 465 batters and walked 239 opposing hitters. As a team, Detroit allowed 10.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.6 batters per nine innings. They were 30th in the league in team earned run average at 5.36. The Tigers pitchers as a team surrendered 1,587 base knocks and 846 earned runs last season. They gave up 218 home runs last year, which ranked 10th in Major League Baseball. Detroit as a staff walked 538 hitters and struck out 1,202 batters. They gave up a walk 3.4 times per 9 innings while they struck out 7.6 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.50 while their FIP as a staff was 4.73.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .258, good for 13th in the league. The Tigers held a .424 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .324, which was good for 16th in baseball. They ranked 13th in MLB with 8.9 hits per contest. Miguel Cabrera comes into this matchup after batting .249 with an OBP of .329 last season. He had 117 hits last year along with 60 RBI in 469 AB's. He maintained a slugging percentage of .399 with an OPS+ of 92. Nicholas Castellanos hit .272 last season and he had an OBP of .320. He collected 167 hits in 614 at bats while driving in 101 runs. He had an OPS+ of 110 and a slugging percentage of .490. The Tigers as a unit had 1,435 base hits last season, including 289 doubles and 187 homers. Detroit walked 503 times last year and they struck out on 1,313 occasions. They left 1,104 men on base and had an OPS of .748. They scored 4.54 runs per game and totaled 735 runs last year.

Who will win tonight's Pirates/Tigers MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Pirates +120

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