MLB Baseball
2012-05-15 - Pittsburgh Pirates at Miami Marlins
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
United States: Major League Baseball
Tuesday 15 May 2012 - First Pitch 7:10pm ET
12:10am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Pittsburgh Pirates (17-18) took a close game 1 between the teams last night and have a chance to get back to 0.500 while also dropping the Miami Marlins (18-17) to the same mark. However, it won't be easy against a pitcher that has historically given them trouble in the past.
Josh Johnson will be given the ball for Miami and will be looking to get his first win in 13 months while improving his own record which stands at 0-3 for the season with a 5.87 ERA. The pitcher will be feeling better about his command after holding the Houston Astros to 2 runs in over 7 innings pitched, although he still didn't factor into the decision as the Marlins won 5-3 in extra innings.
Johnson has a 2-0 record from three starts against the Pirates in his career and he also has a 1.64 ERA from those games.
On the other side will be Kevin Correia who will be pitching for Pittsburgh who has a 1-3 record this season with a 3.47 ERA. He gave up 3 runs in over 7 innings pitched against the Washington Nationals in his last outing, but he has had an issue with Home Runs by allowing 4 in the last 8 innings he has pitched.
The pitcher has a 2-3 record against the Miami Marlins in his 6 career starts against them, but has an awful 7.63 ERA in those meetings while also giving up 7 Home Runs just over 30 innings pitched against them.
Head to Head
Miami had won 8 games in a row in the series with Pittsburgh before losing game 1 last night.
The Marlins had won 5 games in a row at home against the Pirates before the loss last night.
Miami are 8-7 at home, Pittsburgh are 7-10 on the road.
Prediction
The Miami Marlins have usually found success easy to come by against the Pittsburgh Pirates and I think they will be good enough to earn a split of the series tonight.
The pitching duel is the key, but I think Josh Johnson is getting better with his command and I believe he will win out on that front. Kevin Correia has also struggled in his past meetings with the Marlins and that looks to be the key that should allow Miami to win this by a couple of runs at the least.
The Pick :
Miami Marlins 6-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll take the Miami Marlins - 1.5 Runs @ 2.30
