Pittsburgh Pirates vs Athletics Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/16/2026

Game Time: 9:40 pm ET, Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Venue:  Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento, CA

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +104, Athletics -126; Over/Under:  10.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +105, Athletics -125; Over/Under:  10.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +105, Athletics -125; Over/Under:  10.5 runs

Pittsburgh Pirates:  36-36 (4th place, NL Central)

Athletics:  35-36 (2nd place, AL West)

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Pittsburgh Pirates:  3-7 last 10

Athletics:  5-5 last 10

The Pirates are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Miami Marlins 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 36-36 record overall and have a road record of 16-17. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Athletics on Tuesday with the series opener still to be played on Monday. Their offense ranks 6th in the MLB with a .737 OPS. Jared Jones is their starting pitcher on Monday while Mitch Keller is making his start in this game on Tuesday. He is 5-4 with a 5.14 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 5 ER, 1 HR, and 4 BB with 3 SO on 7 hits through 4 IP against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Athletics are entering this series off a loss and won their 3-game series against the Colorado Rockies 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 35-36 record overall and have a home record of 15-19. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Pirates on Tuesday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Monday. Their offense ranks 3rd in the MLB with a .747 OPS. J.T. Ginn is their starting pitcher on Monday while Jack Perkins is making his start in this game on Tuesday. He is 2-3 with a 6.25 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 2 homers, and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts on 5 hits through 4 innings pitched against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The current betting odds have the Athletics listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Athletics haven't looked great in their games this season with their 35-36 record overall, but that record has them right near the top of the AL West. They haven't looked great in their own ballpark either with their 15-19 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Pirates haven't looked great in their games this season with their 36-36 record overall which has them right near the bottom of the NL Central. They haven't been a great road team either with their 16-17 road record this year. The Athletics are 5-5 in their last 10 games and haven't looked great lately, but they have looked a lot better than the Pirates who are 3-7 in their last 10 games and slipping into a slump. Both offenses have looked great this season, but the Athletics have been putting up a ton of runs lately while the Pirates are coming off a series loss to the Marlins which their offense dried up in. Keller is on the mound for the Pirates in this one and he has looked terrible this season. He is 5-4 with a 5.14 ERA and lately he has been giving up a ton of runs. He gave up another 5 earned runs in his last start which has been a common theme for him and the team has lost 2 games in a row now with him starting too. The Athletics are going with Perkins in this one and he hasn't looked great this season either. He is 2-3 with a 6.25 ERA and has also been giving up a lot of runs, but he has looked better lately. His team has still lost 2 of their last 3 games with him starting, but he only gave up 3 earned runs in his last start and he has the better offense to help him out too. The Athletics can take advantage of this pitching matchup with the hotter offense at the moment while the Pirates continue to slump. The best way to place a bet here is on the Athletics to win this game. 

Pirates Athletics Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Tuesday, June 16, 2026 (9:40 pm ET start time) is Athletics 6 Pirates 4.

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Pittsburgh Pirates: 15-21 (-5.7 units) on the moneyline against AL West opponents. 184-212 (-19.7 units) on the moneyline in all games. 80-114 (-17.2 units) on the moneyline in road games. 12-4 OVER vs. good power teams - averaging 1.25 or more HR's/game. 

Athletics: 92-80 (+15.6 units) on the moneyline when the money line is +125 to -125. 58-62 (+6.2 units) on the moneyline in an inter-league game. 52-50 (+8.3 units) on the moneyline vs. an NL team with a team batting average of .255 or worse. 7-3 OVER when the total is 10 to 10.5.

Pittsburgh Pirates:  W. Dotel (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Undisclosed. O. Cruz (CF) Ten Day IL - Hand. C. Devenski (RP) Sixty Day IL - Illness. K. Griffin (SS) Ten Day IL - Flexor Tendon. J. Bart (C) Ten Day IL - Foot Infection.

Athletics:  B. Rooker (DH) Ten Day IL - Knee. B. Kriske (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. L. Severino (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. A. Civale (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. D. Clarke (CF) Sixty Day IL - Foot. G. Hoglund (SP) Sixty Day IL - Knee.

"Like his stuff. Like what he's been able to do out of the pen. He's got strikeout stuff; it just seemed like the slider wasn't as sharp today as it can be. He just didn't have his elite stuff today." - Don Kelly on Wilber Dotel after his team’s loss against the Marlins in their game on Sunday. 

“I know that the offense is gaining confidence. That’s one thing I think this ballpark can do. Offensively, it can bring some confidence to guys, which, we know you have to have confidence to be able to hit. This may be a week that we get jump-started and move the needle forward.” - Mark Kotsay after his team’s loss against the Rockies in their game on Sunday. 

Spencer Horwitz (L) DH

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Bryan Reynolds (S) LF

Ryan O'Hearn (L) 1B

Nick Gonzales (R) 3B

Tyler Callihan (L) RF

Jake Mangum (S) CF

Jared Triolo (R) SS

Henry Davis (R) C

Lawrence Butler (L) CF

Nick Kurtz (L) DH

Tyler Soderstrom (L) LF

Carlos Cortes (L) RF

Zack Gelof (R) 2B

Jonah Heim (S) C

Max Muncy (R) 3B

Jeff McNeil (L) 1B

Alika Williams (R) SS

Batting Average:  Rafael Flores (.667)

Hits:  Nick Gonzales (74)

Home Runs:  Brandon Lowe (17)

RBI:  Brandon Lowe (46)

Stolen Bases:  Oneil Cruz (21)

Wins:  Paul Skenes (6)

Saves:  Gregory Soto (10)

ERA:  Evan Sisk (1.80)

Batting Average:  Michael Stefanic (.400)

Hits:  Shea Langeliers (75)

Home Runs:  Shea Langeliers (18)

RBI:  Nick Kurtz (52)

Stolen Bases:  Nick Kurtz (7)

Wins:  Aaron Civale (5)

Saves:  Hogan Harris (6)

ERA:  Brooks Kriske (0.00)

Managers:

Pittsburgh Pirates: Don Kelly (2nd season)

Athletics: Mark Kotsay (5th season)