Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants Prediction, 5/8/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants

Date: Friday, May 8, 2026

Location: Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA

TV: NBC Bay Area

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (-144) San Francisco (+120)

Oracle Park is the site where the San Francisco Giants (14-23) will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (20-17) on Friday. The moneyline on this game has the Pirates at -144 and the Giants are at +120. The betting total is set at 8. The pitchers taking the mound will be Carmen Mlodzinski and Robbie Ray.

Pittsburgh is slugging .387 and have been called out on strikes 343 times, while taking a walk on 148 occasions. They have 175 runs batted in and 316 base knocks over the course of the season, while their average at the plate is .247. The Pirates have earned 51 doubles as a squad and have hit 39 balls out of the park. They have tallied 181 runs and hold an OBP of .333. As a team, the Pittsburgh Pirates are scoring 4.9 runs per game, which puts them at 7th in baseball.

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The Pirates hold a team earned run average of 3.75 for the season (8th in the league), and the staff has struck out 342 hitters. Pirates pitchers have surrendered 28 home runs and also 158 total runs (13th in the league). They have walked 139 players from the other team and their FIP is 3.60 as a squad for the season. Pittsburgh has conceded 273 base hits (7.3 per 9 innings) and also 140 earned runs. They have a K/BB ratio of 2.46 and the pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.23.

The Pirates have dispatched 124 relief pitchers to the mound for the year. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 40 base runners so far this season and 37.5% of them ended up scoring. The relief pitchers have recorded 24 holds on the season (12th in the league). Pirates bullpen pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on base 33 times and also have had 42 appearances in high leverage situations. They have compiled 6 saves for the year and have not converted 8 of 14 save opportunities. The Pirates relief pitchers have a save percentage of 42.9% and have entered the game in 38 save situations.

The Pirates have turned 71.0% of balls hit into play into outs out of 3,027 innings on the field, ranking them 7th in pro baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates have accounted for 1,009 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 290 assists and 21 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .984 which has them ranked 25th in professional baseball, and have earned 25 double plays.

Mlodzinski has taken the ball for 219 innings and has tallied 209 punch outs during his career. Mlodzinski (15-18 win-loss mark in his career) has a FIP of 3.44 and he has gone up against 934 opposing batters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 3.49 (85 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.305. He has conceded 209 base knocks (8.6 hits per nine innings) and has 77 walks.

The Giants hold a team slugging percentage of .355 and they tally 3.11 runs per game (30th in the league). They have hit 62 doubles, while getting a free base 72 times and scoring 115 runs. San Francisco has hit 23 HRs on the season as well as 110 runs batted in. They have struck out on 293 occasions (23rd in the league) and have tallied 295 base hits. The San Francisco Giants have recorded an on-base percentage of .282 in addition to a team batting average of .238 this year.

The Giants have a team WHIP of 1.296 with a FIP of 4.13 as a squad this year. Their K/BB ratio sits at 8.10 (295 strikeouts vs 136 walks). They come in at 13th in the league as a staff in total hits conceded with 288. They have allowed 37 dingers and they relinquish 4.32 runs per 9 innings (11th in the league). The San Francisco pitching staff have given up 157 runs for the year while having an ERA of 3.96 (144 earned runs conceded).

With 33 save situations, the Giants have recorded 21 holds and 5 blown saves. San Francisco has had bullpen pitchers step onto the hill in 12 save chances and they have earned 7 saves. San Francisco relievers have an inherited score rate of 31.1% of 45 inherited base runners. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 19 times in high leverage situations and also on 31 occasions with runners on base. They rank 19th in the league holding a save rate of 58.3%, and they have dispatched 116 relievers onto the diamond so far this year.

In 2,946 innings on the diamond, the Giants have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 70.8% (10th in the majors). The San Francisco Giants have gotten 37 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .985 (21st in pro baseball). The Giants have racked up 369 assists, 20 errors and are sitting with 982 putouts this season.

So far in his MLB career, Ray has allowed 1,278 base hits while he has earned 1,774 punch outs in 1,480 innings. He has given up a total of 644 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.284 and having a FIP of 3.9. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.85 and he has gone up against 6,254 hitters in his MLB career. Ray (90-85 career win-loss record) has earned a 3.92 ERA and has conceded 7.8 hits per 9 innings.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-144)

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