Atlanta Braves vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 7/7/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Atlanta Braves vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Atlanta (-147) Pittsburgh (+115)

Drew Smyly and the Atlanta Braves (41-43, 3rd in NL East) travel to PNC Park on Wednesday where they'll take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (31-53, 5th in NL Central). The Braves open this matchup at -147 while the Pirates are priced at +115. The total opens at 9. The starting pitchers will be Drew Smyly and Wil Crowe.

Atlanta has a slugging rate of .422 and have been called out on strikes 789 times, while drawing a walk on 307 occasions. They have accounted for 375 runs batted in as well as 649 base knocks over the course of the season, while their batting average is .237. The Braves have hit 138 doubles as a unit and have hit 116 baseballs out of the stadium. They have racked up 391 runs scored and hold an OBP of .320. As a unit, the Atlanta Braves are earning 4.7 runs per game, which puts them at 11th in baseball.

The Braves are sitting with a team earned run average of 4.30 for the season (17th in the league), and their staff has struck out 751 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 283 opposing batters and their FIP is 4.21 as a squad over the course of the season. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.65 and their pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.30. Braves pitchers have given up 101 long balls in addition to 385 total runs (19th in the league).

The Braves have sent 305 relief pitchers to the hill for the year. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 119 runners this year and 40.3% of them ended up scoring. They have accumulated 18 saves this season and have not converted 13 of their 31 chances to save the game. The Braves bullpen have accumulated a save percentage of 58.1% and has come into the game in 86 save situations. The bullpen have a total of 54 holds this season (4th in baseball). Braves pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on base 78 times in addition to having 124 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Braves have converted 69.7% of balls in play into outs out of 6,579 innings, which has them sitting at 17th in pro baseball. The Atlanta Braves have a total of 2,193 putouts so far this season, in addition to 749 assists and 42 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .986 which ranks 6th in pro baseball, and have 595 double plays.

Smyly has taken the mound for 784 innings and has accumulated 778 K's during his career. Smyly (41-38 record in his career) has earned a FIP of 4.24 while he has gone up against 3,286 opposing hitters in the majors. His ERA is 4.16 (362 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.260. He has surrendered 738 base knocks (8.5 hits per 9 innings) and has 250 free passes.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have earned a team OBP of .300 and a team batting average of .228 on the year. They have struck out on 690 instances (26th in the league) and have earned a total of 633 base hits. Pittsburgh has a total of 66 long balls over the course of the season to go along with 279 RBIs. The Pirates hold a slugging % of .354 and they tally 3.52 runs per game (30th in baseball). They have recorded 125 two-baggers, while taking a walk 260 times and recording 296 runs.

The Pittsburgh pitching staff have given up 402 runs this season while holding an ERA of 4.72 (380 earned runs allowed). They have given up 98 long balls and they relinquish 4.99 runs per 9 innings (23rd in the league). The Pirates have a team WHIP of 1.345 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.42 as a pitching staff on the year. Their K/BB ratio is 2.30 (687 strikeouts vs 299 bases on balls). They are currently ranked 18th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 676.

Pittsburgh has had bullpen pitchers take the mound in 16 save opportunities and they have earned 12 saves. They rank 3rd in baseball with a save rate of 75.0%, and they have dispatched 289 relievers onto the diamond on the year. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill 59 times in high leverage situations in addition to 67 occasions with runners on. Pittsburgh relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 28.2% out of their 110 inherited runners. With 51 save situations, the Pirates have amassed 33 holds and also 4 blown saves.

In their 6,528 innings played, the Pirates hold a defensive efficiency of 69.8% (15th in the majors). The Pittsburgh Pirates have turned 66 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .985 (9th in MLB). The Pirates have recorded 745 assists, 44 errors and have a total of 2,176 putouts during this campaign.

In his pro baseball career, Crowe has allowed 70 hits while totaling 54 punch outs in 58 innings. Crowe (1-7 mark in his career) has earned a 7.06 earned run average and has conceded 10.7 hits per nine innings. He has surrendered a total of 46 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.756 and a FIP of 6.8. He has a K/BB ratio of 1.64 and he has gone up against 276 hitters in his MLB career.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+115)

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