MLB Picks: The Pittsburgh Pirates are closing in on a playoff spot as the regular season comes to a close while the Atlanta Braves are playing out the string in a disappointing season. The Pirates visit the Braves on Thursday in the finale of a four-game series. Pittsburgh will close out the regular season with three games in Cincinnati and there is a good chance that the Pirates will be playing next week in the Wild Card game, likely against the San Francisco Giants. Let’s look at this game on Thursday between the Pirates and the Braves and baseball picks.
Pirates Pitching
Pittsburgh is expected to go with Edinson Volquez on Thursday. He has been a nice surprise this season for the Pirates as he comes into this game at 12-7 with a 3.15 ERA. He has been fabulous of late going 4-0 with a 0.59 ERA in his last nine starts. He hasn’t had any success at Turner Field in Atlanta though with an 0-2 record. Overall, he is 2-3 against the Braves with a 3.86 ERA.
Braves Collapse
Atlanta was considered a World Series contender before the season started but they have collapsed in the past couple of months and now they will miss the playoffs. Their general manager and manager could end up getting fired after the season is over. The Braves have no offense as they are next to last in the league as they average just over 3.5 runs per game.
Series Notes
Before this four-game set began it was actually the Braves who had won six of the last ten meetings. Four of the last six had gone over the total. The teams had not met in Atlanta since June of last year when the Braves swept a three-game series. The Pirates had dropped seven of the last 10 in Atlanta with three of the last four going over.
Baseball Picks
The Pirates are the better team; they should have the pitching edge with Volquez against anyone the Braves throw, so we’ll look for Atlanta to win this game on Thursday.
