4th of July Fireworks Between Phillies and Pirates

The Phillies and Pirates face off on Independence Day, think you know who wins? Read this prediction from BetPhoenix online sportsbook

Phillies And Pirates Battle For Pennsylvania Bragging Rights On Independence Day

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies will continue their in-state rivalry on Tuesday when the teams meet in the second game of a four game series. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park, and is scheduled to begin at 4 PM. ET.

Philadelphia Phillies vs Pittsburgh Pirates

When: July 04, 2017, 4:08 PM ET

Where: Citizens Bank Park

BetPhoenix Moneyline: Pirates -147 vs Phillies +137

Over/Under: 8.5

Pittsburgh Pirates Team Analysis

The Pirates came into this game sitting in 4th place in the NL Central. They are five games behind the Milwaukee Brewers who lead the worst division in baseball (record wise) at this point.

Pittsburgh still has enough time for them to make up some ground. They are going to have to play better than they did in the first half of the season.

Pittsburgh came in to this series hoping to snap a three-game losing streak. The Pirates were swept at home by the San Francisco Giants over the weekend. The Giants have the second worst record in baseball.

The Pirates were outscored 20-9 by the Giants. This wasn’t surprising considering how bad the Pirates offense has been this year.

The Pirates losing streak was extended to four games on Monday. They lost the series opener to Philadelphia 4-0.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/embed/pNZeiYTqirM[/embed]

Pittsburgh’s woes at the plate continued. The team was only able to get four hits against Phillies starter Aaron Nola. The Pirates will be hoping to turn things around on Tuesday.

For the season the Pirates have a .243 batting average. That puts them at 23rd in the league. The team has only scored 345 runs, which is 25th in the league.

The Pirates have also allowed 11 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in seven of their last 12 games.

While the team’s batting has been woeful, their pitching hasn’t been as bad. Pittsburgh’s pitching rotation has a 4.31 ERA, which is 14th in the league and 39 quality starts, which is 9th best in the league.

Pirates Analysis

Jameson Taillon will get the start for the Pirates. In 10 starts, Taillon has a 4-2 record with a 2.97 ERA.

The 25-year-old, who has been one of the few bright spots on the team this year, pitched 6.1 shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in his last start.

Pittsburgh Trends

• Pirates are 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games


• Pittsburgh is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games


• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games

Philadelphia Team Analysis

The Phillies were expected to be one of the worst teams in the league this year. Philadelphia shed a lot of big salaries in the past two seasons on aging veterans.

The Phillies have lived up to expectations and currently have the worst record in baseball.

Despite their record, the Phillies have been playing well lately and have won four of their last six games and are looking for another win after splitting their last 12 games.

Aaron Nola pitched six scoreless innings against Pittsburgh on Monday, and the bullpen kept the Pirates hitless to seal the victory.

The #Phillies beat the #Pirates 4-0 tonight. RECAP: https://t.co/V19QSpg8TP

— KDKA (@CBSPittsburgh) July 4, 2017

The Phillies are hoping to win their third consecutive game today. They won four straight at the beginning of June and that is it for streaks this season.

Phillies Pitcher Analysis

Mark Leiter Jr. will get the start for the Phillies on Tuesday afternoon. Leiter has been primarily used out of the bullpen. He will be making his third start of the year this afternoon.

Leiter is 1-0 with a 4.20 ERA for the season. He pitched six shutout innings against Arizona in his first start. Leiter allowed four runs in five innings in his last start.

Philadelphia Trends

• Phillies are 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games


• Philadelphia is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games


• Phillies are 7-18 SU in its last 25 games

Pick and Prediction

Philadelphia has been playing well lately but Taillon has been pitching very well, giving the Pirates the slight edge. Pittsburgh is the smart play.

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