Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, 5/8/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds

Date: Sunday, May 8, 2022

Location: Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

TV: Bally Sports Ohio

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+135) Cincinnati (-155)

Great American Ball Park is where the Cincinnati Reds (4-22) will meet the Pittsburgh Pirates (10-15) on Sunday. The moneyline on this game has the Pirates at +135 while the Reds open at -155. The over/under is set at 8. The starting pitchers will be Zach Thompson and Tyler Mahle.

As a squad, the Pittsburgh Pirates are notching 3.7 runs per game, which is 22nd in the league. They have racked up 89 runs while holding a team OBP of .300. The Pirates have hit 31 doubles as a squad and have hit 14 balls out of the stadium. They have tallied 80 RBI's in addition to 185 hits on the year, and their team batting average is .233. Pittsburgh has a slugging rate of .338 and have been rung up 212 times, while taking a walk on 77 occasions.

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Pirates pitchers have allowed 23 home runs and 126 runs in total (27th in the league). They have walked 90 opposing batters and their FIP is 4.13 as a team so far this year. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 2.08 and the pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.37. The Pirates hold a team earned run average of 4.67 on the campaign (28th in MLB), and the staff has rung up 187 batters.

The Pirates bullpen have accumulated a save rate of 75.0% and has come into the game in 20 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 31 base runners so far this year and 35.5% of them crossed the plate. Pirates bullpen pitchers have entered the contest with runners on base 22 times in addition to having 25 appearances in high leverage situations. The Pirates have sent 82 relief pitchers to the mound this season. The relief pitchers have recorded 10 holds on the campaign (25th in MLB). They have recorded 6 saves this year and have not converted 2 of their 8 save opportunities.

The Pirates have converted 69.1% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 1,890 innings, which has them sitting at 23rd in professional baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting with 630 putouts this year, as well as 213 assists and 22 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .975 which is 30th in MLB, and have a total of 16 double plays.

Thompson has taken the ball for 90 innings and has tallied 79 punch outs during his career. Thompson (4-10 win-loss mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 4.21 and he has faced 397 batters during his time in the major leagues. His earned run average is 4.28 (43 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.384. He has allowed 87 base hits (8.7 hits per nine innings) and has 38 free passes.

Cincinnati has recorded 18 home runs so far this year to go along with 76 runs batted in. They have 36 two-baggers, while walking 63 times as well as putting up 79 runs. The Cincinnati Reds are sitting with a team OBP of .267 and a team batting average of .203 this season. The Reds have a team slugging % of .318 and they average 3.16 runs per game (28th in MLB). They have been rung up on 234 occasions (8th in the league) and have totaled 162 base hits.

The Cincinnati pitching staff have given up 166 runs on the season while holding an ERA of 6.86 (160 earned runs yielded). They have allowed 34 homers and they surrender 7.11 runs per 9 innings (30th in baseball). The Reds hold a team WHIP of 1.690 and have a FIP of 5.18 as a team this year. Their K/BB ratio sits at 1.74 (209 strikeouts vs 120 walks). They come in at 28th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 235.

Sitting with 9 save situations, the Reds have accrued 4 holds in addition to 2 blown saves. Cincinnati has called on relief pitchers to enter the contest in 5 save chances and they have walked away with 3 saves. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 10 times in high leverage situations in addition to 29 occasions with base runners. Cincinnati bullpen pitchers have an inherited score rate of 50.0% of 52 inherited runners. They are ranked 26th in the league with a save percentage of 60.0%, and they have sent 102 relievers onto the field for the season.

The Cincinnati Reds have gotten 17 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .987 (11th in the majors). The Reds have recorded 175 assists, 11 errors and have amassed 630 putouts so far this year. In their 1,890 innings played, the Reds hold a defensive efficiency of 65.4% (30th in the majors).

During his MLB career, Mahle has allowed 502 base knocks while he has tallied 549 K's in 515 innings. He has given up 256 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.357 and a FIP of 4.3. His K/BB ratio is 2.79 and he has faced 2,235 opposing batters in his pro baseball career. Mahle (27-35 career win-loss mark) is the owner of a 4.47 earned run average while allowing 8.8 hits per 9 innings.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+135)

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