David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Diego Padres: The Padres are picking up the pace

The Pittsburgh Pirates and  San Diego Padres are starting their series tonight at Petco Park.

The Pirates have the longest active losing streak in the league

The Pittsburgh Pirates are at the bottom of the NL Central with a 56-61 record including 29-30 on the road. They have lost the last seven games and are coming off a series sweep to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Pirates have a 3.96 ERA, a .245 batting average, a .316 on-base percentage, and 1.29 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Bryan Reynolds leads the team with 131 hits and 19 home runs while Andrew McCutchen is on top with 59 runs.

The Padres have won 8 of the last 10 games

The San Diego Padres are third in the NL West with a 66-53 record and 30-29 at home. After winning seven consecutive games, the Padres lost 7-6 to the Miami Marlins last night. The Padres have a 4.00 ERA, a .237 batting average, a .304 on-base percentage, and 1.23 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jurickson Profar leads the team with 123 hits, 68 runs and 19 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Padres are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games overall, 4-1 SU in their last 5 home games and 12-2 SU in their last 14 games against teams from the NL. San Diego has played over the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games overall, 8 of their last 9 games against teams from the NL Central and has played under in 4 of their last 5 home games against Pittsburgh. The Pirates are 0-7 SU in their last 7 games overall, 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against the Padres, 1-4 SU in their last 5 games on the road and 0-5 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the NL. Pittsburgh has played over the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games overall and 9 of their last 11 games against teams from the NL West.

Prediction and Conclusion

This will be the second series this month between these two teams after the Padres swept the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The Padres are coming back home after visiting Miami, where they got their seven-game winning streak snapped. The Pirates are coming to San Diego as losers of the last seven games, which saw them drop to the bottom of the division. The Pirates will start Marco Gonzalez tonight, who is 1-1 for the season with a 4.54 ERA, 23 K, 33.2 IP, and 1.60 WHIP. The Padres will have Joe Musgrove on the mound, who is 3-4 for the season with a 5.66 ERA, 44 K, 49.1 IP, and 1.48 WHIP. Looking at the current form of the teams, it is obvious that the Padres are much better, but we are still going with the Pirates to cover the +1.5-run spread. They are just with their back against the wall, and as the Padres traveled all the way from Miami, the Pirates will take advantage of that and be competitive in this game.