Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Philadelphia Phillies vs Pittsburgh Pirates: Can the Pirates keep the winning streak alive against the top team in the NL?

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates will start their three-game series tonight at PNC Stadium.

The Phillies are the best team in the league

The Philadelphia Phillies are on top of the NL East with the best record in the MLB, 62-34, including 25-18 on the road. They won four of the last six games but are coming off the worst loss of the season, 18-3 against the Oakland Athletics. The Phillies have a 3.42 ERA, a .226 batting average, a .291 on-base percentage, and 1.15 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Alec Bohm leads the team with 107 hits, Kyle Schwarber is on top with 65 runs, and Bryce Harper has 21 home runs.

The Pirates have the longest active winning streak in the league

The Pittsburgh Pirates are third in the NL Central with a 48-48 record including 22-24 at home. They have won the last four games and are coming off a series sweep agains the Chicago White Sox. The Pirates have a 3.87 ERA, a .244 batting average, a .313 on-base percentage, and 1.28 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Bryan Reynolds leads the team with 110 hits and 18 home runs while Andrew McCutchen is on top with 47 runs.

Betting Trends

The Pirates are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games overall and 2-6 SU in their last 8 home games against Philadelphia. Pittsburgh has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games against the Phillies, 4 of their last 6 games played on Friday and 5 of their last 7 games against teams from the NL East. The Phillies are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games overall, 5-1 SU in their last 6 games against teams from the NL Central 13-7 SU in their last 20 games against the Pirates and 6-2 SU in their last 8 visits to Pittsburgh. Philadelphia has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games against teams from the NL and has gone over in 4 of their last 6 games on the road.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Pittsburgh Pirates are the hottest team in the league going into the All-Star break, and we will see if they are for real when they visit the local rival and the team with the best record in the league. The Phillies have a promising season and will start this game with one of their best pitchers, Aaron Nola. The 31-year-old is 11-4 for the season, with a 3.38 ERA, 116 K, 119.2 IP, and 1.03 WHIP. The Pirates will have a problem matching that as Martin Perez will be on the mound, who is only 1-5 for the season with a 5.15 ERA, 57 K, 73.1 IP, and 1.62 WHIP. There is a huge gap between those two, so the Phillies will start the series with a win.