<p>
Two teams who are trying to stay close in the National League wild-card race meet when the Phillies and Pirates open a three-game Keystone State rivalry series Friday night in Pittsburgh. Which way are we going here with our free MLB pick?
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<h2>
MLB Betting Odds<br />
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<p>
Friday's MLB betting odds opened the Pirates at around -110 over Philly, with an over/under of 10 runs. Both those figures were holding steady in the early betting action.
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<h2>
Phillies vs. Pirates Set-Up<br />
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<p>
Philadelphia just split four games at home with the Dodgers, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to steal Thursday's series finale 7-6. Just before that, the Phillies dropped two of three games to Washington. Going back a bit further Philly is only 5-7 over its last 12 games.
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<p>
At 50-47 overall the Phillies trail first-place Atlanta by 7.5 games in the NL East, but they're only a half-game back of Milwaukee in the battle for the second National League wild-card spot.
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Pittsburgh, meanwhile, just dropped two of three games at St. Louis, losing Wednesday's series finale 6-5. The Pirates then had Thursday off.
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Just before that Pittsburgh got swept three games by the Cubs, so the Pirates are 1-5 over their last six games.
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At 45-50 overall Pittsburgh trails those first-place Cubs by 6.5 games in the NL Central, and it's 4.5 games behind the Brewers in that NL wild-card race.
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<p>
This series is the first meeting between these teams this season. Last year the Phillies took the season series from the Pirates six games to one.
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<h2>
Friday's Starting Arms<br />
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<p>
Lyles, by our stringent standards, is just 5/15 on quality starts this season and 0/3 since returning from a trip to the DL. Last Saturday he got bombed by the Cubs for seven runs in less than one inning of work in a 10-4 Pittsburgh loss. And over his last three starts, he's allowed 14 runs on 19 hits, including five dingers, through just 10 2/3 innings.
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<p>
The Pirates are 8-7 with Lyles this season, but 0-6 over his last six starts.
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<p>
This outing will be Lyles' first start against Philadelphia since 2015 when he was with Colorado, and that's a long time ago.
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<p>
Arrieta is 8/19 on quality starts this year but 0 for his last four. Last Sunday he held Washington to one run through five innings of a 4-3 Phillies victory, but over his three starts previous to that he allowed 15 runs – 14 earned – and 28 hits through 16 1/3 innings.
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<p>
Philadelphia is 11-8 with Arrieta this year, and 3-1 over his last four starts, although he can't take too much credit for that.
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<p>
In two starts against Pittsburgh last year Arrieta allowed just two runs and seven hits through 14 innings, with 18 strikeouts. The Phillies won both those games.
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<h2>
Friday's Batting Splits<br />
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Philadelphia is batting .240/.321/.415 against right-handed pitching this season.
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Pittsburgh is batting .275/.337/.445 against RH pitching this season. But this lineup has also scored a total of just 18 runs over its last six games.
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<h2>
The Bullpens<br />
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<p>
The Phillies bullpen owns a 5.03 ERA this season and a 1.48 WHIP while allowing an .819 OPS.
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The Pirates pen owns a 4.88 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP while allowing a .787 OPS.
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Both these unit ranks among the bottom half-dozen bullpens in baseball.
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<h2>
Totals Report<br />
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<li>
Unders are 48-46 in Phillies games this season.
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Overs are a lopsided 56-36 in Pirates games this season.
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Overs are 29-12 in games played at PNC Park this season, which are averaging a somewhat shocking 11 runs per. But we're chalking most of that up to Pittsburgh pitching, such as it is, rather than the ballpark.
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Unders played 4-1-2 in Phillies-Pirates games this season.
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<p><section></p>
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<li>
<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1080523">Phillies at Pirates MLB Match-up Stats</a> </span>
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</ul>
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