Pittsburgh Pirates vs Philadelphia Phillies Prediction, 5/18/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Philadelphia Phillies

Date: Sunday, May 18, 2025

Location: Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+220) Philadelphia (-275)

The Philadelphia Phillies (25-18) are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates (15-29) at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday. The moneyline on this game has the Pirates at +220 and the Phillies are at -275. The total is 8. The pitchers who are expected to start are Paul Skenes and Cristopher Sanchez.

The Pirates have accumulated 50 doubles as a team and have hit 31 balls out of the park. Pittsburgh has a slugging % of .328 and have been called out on strikes 381 times, while being walked on 156 occasions. As a unit, the Pittsburgh Pirates are notching 3.1 runs per contest, which is 30th in MLB. They have tallied 132 RBI's as well as 321 base knocks over the course of the season, while their average at the plate sits at .220. They have 135 runs scored while having a team OBP of .301.

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The Pirates hold a team earned run average of 4.01 on the year (18th in MLB), and their staff has struck out 324 hitters. Pirates pitchers have surrendered 38 long balls in addition to 189 runs in total (17th in MLB). Their pitching staff has walked 141 opposing batters and their FIP comes in at 3.92 as a team so far this year. Pittsburgh has conceded 354 base knocks (8.1 per 9 innings) and 175 earned runs. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 2.30 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.26.

The Pirates relief pitchers have recorded a save percentage of 50.0% and have entered the game in 40 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 68 runners this season with 33.8% of them ended up crossing the plate. Pirates relief pitchers have entered the game with runners on 44 times and also have had 47 appearances in high leverage situations. The Pirates have dispatched 147 relief pitchers to the hill for the year. The bullpen have 23 holds on the campaign (20th in the league). They have earned 8 saves on the year and have blown 8 of 16 save chances.

The Pirates have transformed 70.5% of balls in play into outs out of their 3,537 innings on the diamond, which has them ranked 12th in pro baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates have a tally of 1,179 putouts for the season, in addition to 394 assists and 28 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .983 which ranks 23rd in the majors, and have 41 double plays.

Skenes has taken the mound for 187 innings and has 223 strikeouts in his career. Skenes (14-7 career win-loss record) holds a FIP of 2.13 while he has faced 729 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 2.16 (45 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 0.967. He has given up 134 hits (6.4 hits per 9 innings) and has 47 free passes.

Philadelphia has tallied 45 HRs on the campaign and 192 RBIs. They have recorded 65 doubles, while taking a walk 162 times as well as putting up 202 runs. The Philadelphia Phillies are sitting with an on-base percentage of .335 in addition to a team batting average of .257 this year. The Phillies hold a slugging percentage of .402 and they earn 4.70 runs per contest (10th in baseball). They have been rung up on 345 occasions (21st in MLB) and have tallied 378 base hits.

The Philadelphia pitching staff have yielded 186 runs over the course of the season while having a team ERA of 3.90 (167 earned runs yielded). They have relinquished 45 homers and they yield 4.35 runs per 9 innings (16th in the league). The Phillies have a team WHIP of 1.264 and are the owners of a FIP of 3.54 as a pitching staff on the year. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 9.70 (417 strikeouts vs 124 free passes). They come in at 19th in MLB as a staff in total hits conceded with 363.

Philadelphia bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 38.5% out of 39 inherited runners. Their relievers have come in 42 times in high leverage situations and on 27 occasions with runners on base. With 43 save situations, the Phillies have recorded 21 holds and also 8 blown saves. They are ranked 17th in MLB holding a save rate of 61.9%, and they have sent 138 relievers to the hill over the course of the season. Philadelphia has had relievers take the mound in 21 save opportunities and they have earned 13 saves.

The Philadelphia Phillies have turned 30 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .990 (4th in the majors). The Phillies have racked up 369 assists, 16 errors and are sitting with 1,157 putouts this season. Out of their 3,471 innings on the field, the Phillies are sitting with a efficiency on defense of 68.0% (23rd in baseball).

So far in his career, Sanchez has conceded 360 hits and he has 349 punch outs in 376 frames. Sanchez (21-17 record in his career) has a 3.61 earned run average while conceding 8.6 hits per nine innings. He has conceded 151 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.225 and a FIP of 3.6. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.46 and he has faced 1,569 opposing hitters during his MLB career.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Philadelphia (-275)

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