Pittsburgh Pirates vs Houston Astros Prediction MLB Picks 7/29/24

-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving Pittsburgh

-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving Houston

-Recent betting trends in games played between Pittsburgh and Houston

-A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for Today’s Game between the Pirates and Astros. 

Pirates Picked up Key Win

The Pirates picked up a key win on Sunday, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5. Mitch Keller had a strong game, going seven innings, giving up two hits and two runs. Ke’Bryan Hayes finished with a hit and drove in two RBIs. The Pirates are averaging 4.14 runs, while their pitching is giving up 4.24 runs per game. The offense is ranked 22nd in the league, while the pitching is ranked 14th. Bryan Reynolds has hit 18 home runs and driven in 61 RBIs. Getting the start for the Pirates will be Paul Skenes who sits with a 6-1 record and an ERA of 1.93. In his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals, he went 8.1 innings giving up four hits and two runs. The Pirates are going to need Skenes to dominate here. 

Why the Pirates Will Beat the Astros

• The Pirates have won six of their last seven road games after going to extra innings.
• The Astros have lost five of their last six night games against NL Central opponents following a home loss.
• The Pirates have covered the run line in each of their last five road games against American League opponents.
• The Astros have failed to cover the run line in four of their last five night games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.

Astros Offense Looks to Bounce Back

The Astros offense is going to need to be better or this could be a long game for them. On Sunday, the Astros scored two runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they ended up losing by four. The Astros are averaging 4.71 runs, while their pitching is giving up 4.18 runs per game. The offense is ranked 11th in the league, while the pitching is ranked 10th in the league. Yordan Alvarez has hit 20 home runs and driven in 50 RBIs. Getting the start for the Astros will be Jake Bloss who sits with an 0-1 record and an ERA of 6.94. In his last appearance against the Oakland Athletics, he went four innings, giving up six hits and five runs. The Astros need him to be a lot better here. 

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Houston Astros Prediction

The Pirates might have lost the last start made by Skenes, but he was still good in that game, it just was a lock of run support that really hurt him. The Pirates' offense gets a chance to face off against Bloss, and I don’t trust Bloss to be good. The Pirates are going to get a dominate start from Skenes and the Astros bats are going to be ice-cold here. Back the Pirates on the money line to cash here.