Pittsburgh Pirates vs Miami Marlins Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/23/2023

Game Time: 6:40 pm ET, Friday, June 23, 2023

Venue:  LoanDepot Park, Miami, FL

Where to Watch:  Apple TV+

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +140, Marlins -165; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +140, Marlins -165; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +140, Marlins -165; Over/Under:  8 runs

Pittsburgh Pirates:  34-39 (4th place, NL Central)

Miami Marlins:  42-33 (2nd place, NL East)

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Pittsburgh Pirates:  1-9 last 10

Miami Marlins:  6-4 last 10

The Pirates are entering this game on a 9 game losing streak and got swept 3-0 in their 3-game series against the Chicago Cubs in their last series. They enter this game with a 34-39 record overall and have a road record of 16-20. This is the 2nd game of a 4-game series with the Marlins on Friday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Thursday. Their offense ranks 20th in the MLB with a .712 OPS. Mitch Keller is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Luis Ortiz is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 1-3 with a 4.30 ERA this season. His team lost their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 ER, 0 HR, and 3 BB with 6 Ks on 4 hits through 4.2 IP against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Marlins are entering this game on a 2 game losing streak and lost their 3-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 42-33 record overall and have a home record of 22-15. This is the 2nd game of a 4-game series with the Pirates on Friday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Thursday. Their offense ranks 17th in the MLB with a .716 OPS. Braxton Garrett is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Jesús Luzardo is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 6-5 with a 4.09 ERA this season. His team won 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 2 earned runs, 1 homer, and 1 BB with 5 strikeouts on 5 hits through 6 innings played against the Washington Nationals.

The current betting odds have the Marlins listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Marlins enter this series with 2 losses in a row but they have been playing really well lately as they have boosted themselves up to 2nd place in their division and are now 9 games above .500. Their pitching has been great lately and they are going to be looking to bounce back at home here after losing 2 in a row to the Blue Jays, but they are catching a break here with the Pirates coming into town. The Pirates got off to a great start this season and were fighting for the division lead just a week ago but they have been in a really bad slump lately losing 9 games in a row and their offense has also been terrible as they now find themselves in 4th place under .500. Ortiz is on the mound for them and he wasn't bad in his last start but he hasn't been great in most of his starts this season and the Marlins have been playing a lot better lately, looking to bounce back here. The Marlins also have Luzardo starting and even though he hasn't been great in his starts lately, he was a lot better in his last start and will be able to keep up his good pitching with this slumping Pirates offense here. The Marlins will take advantage of their opportunity to bounce back in this series at home against a slumping Pirates team. The best way to place a bet here is on the Marlins to win this game.

Pirates Marlins Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, June 23, 2023 (6:40 pm ET start time) is Marlins 4 Pirates 0.

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Pittsburgh Pirates: 47-79 (-13.3 units) on the moneyline against left-handed starters. 35-84 (-17.9 units) on the moneyline as a road underdog of +150 or more. 20-13 UNDER after 6 consecutive games versus division rivals. 7-4 UNDER as an underdog of +150 or more.

Miami Marlins: 42-33 (+12 units) on the moneyline in all games. 32-23 (+12.4 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. JESUS LUZARDO is 9-5 UNDER as a favorite of -125 to -175 and 21-14 UNDER in home games.

Pittsburgh Pirates:  A. McCutchen (DH) Ques Thurs - Elbow. B. Reynolds (CF) Ques Thurs - Back. J. Hernandez (RP) Out indefinitely - Calf. R. Zastryzny (RP) Out indefinitely - Forearm. C. Holderman (RP) Out indefinitely - Wrist. V. Velasquez (SP) out for season - Elbow. W. Crowe (SP) Early July - Shoulder. J. Choi (1B) Early July - Achilles. J. Brubaker (SP) out for season - Elbow. O. Cruz (SS) Mid Aug - Ankle. J. Garcia (RP) Out indefinitely - Bicep. M. Kranick (SP) Late Aug - Elbow.

Miami Marlins:  E. Cabrera (RP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. J. Segura (2B) Out indefinitely - Hamstring. T. Rogers (SP) Early July - Bicep. T. Nance (RP) Early July - Shoulder. J. Chisholm Jr. (CF) Early July - Foot. A. Garcia (RF) Out indefinitely - Back. M. Barnes (RP) Out indefinitely - Hip. J. Cueto (SP) Early July - Bicep. A. Bender (RP) out for season - Elbow. M. Meyer (SP) out for season - Elbow.

“Again, we created opportunities but they’re through walks. We've got to figure this out. We have some young kids that are struggling to keep their head above water and we've got to stay with them.” - Derek Shelton after his team’s loss against the Cubs in their game on Wednesday.

“Proud of the guys, how they came back down 5-0. We had a chance almost every inning after that. They made some good pitches when they had to. Got out of some jams with the hitters we wanted to at the time.” - Skip Schumaker after his team’s loss against the Blue Jays in their game on Wednesday.

Ji Hwan Bae (L) 2B

Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B

Jack Suwinski (L) CF

Connor Joe (R) 1B

Josh Palacios (L) LF

Henry Davis (R) DH

Cal Mitchell (L) RF

Rodolfo Castro (S) SS

Austin Hedges (R) C

Luis Arraez (L) 2B

Jorge Soler (R) DH

Bryan De La Cruz (R) LF

Jesus Sanchez (L) RF

Garrett Cooper (R) 1B

Joey Wendle (L) SS

Jonathan Davis (R) CF

Jacob Stallings (R) C

Garrett Hampson (R) 3B

Batting Average:  Drew Maggi (.333)

Hits:  Bryan Reynolds (72)

Home Runs:  Jack Suwinski (15)

RBI:  Bryan Reynolds (40)

Stolen Bases:  Ji Hwan Bae (20)

Wins:  Mitch Keller (8)

Saves:  David Bednar (14)

ERA:  David Bednar (1.73)

Batting Average:  Luis Arraez (.398)

Hits:  Luis Arraez (105)

Home Runs:  Jorge Soler (21)

RBI:  Jorge Soler (45)

Stolen Bases:  Jazz Chisholm (14)

Wins:  Jesus Luzardo (6)

Saves:  A.J. Puk (9)

ERA:  Eury Perez (1.54)

Managers:

Pittsburgh Pirates: Derek Shelton (4th season)

Miami Marlins: Skip Schumaker (1st season)