Athletics vs. Pirates prediction and odds for Wednesday, June 7 (Ro is fine... for now)

During this series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Oakland Athletics notched their 50th loss of the season. They did that well before winning their 20th or even 15th game, so it’s safe to say that this just isn’t their year. It might be Pittsburgh’s year because the Pirates are battling for first in the NL Central. 

For Game 3 of this interleague series the Pirates will send Roansy Contreras to the mound after he struggled last time out. He will be opposed by Hogan Harris. Contreras is 3-4 with a 4.82 ERA while Harris has a 6.97 ERA in three career starts. 

Let’s take a look at the odds for this midweek finale at PNC Park. 

Athletics vs. Pirates odds, run line and total

Athletics vs. Pirates prediction and pick

The young pitchers in Pittsburgh’s staff have been up and down this year and Contreras is the best example of that. Last time out he allowed five earned runs over four innings against the Cardinals, but the Pirates were able to come back and win that game. Pittsburgh is 5-6 in his outings, but if he keeps a spot in the rotation they could find themselves on the losing end even more. 

Contreras is 17th percentile in strikeout rate with below average chase and whiff rates, while having a 34th percentile walk rate. He’s allowed seven home runs this year including two last start and is 20th percentile in hard hit rate. His expected ERA is 5.23, much worse than his ERA and that’s a sign his ERA could keep rising. 

While he’s a long term problem, against the worst team in baseball he’ll do just fine and anything less than a win in the series finale is a big failure for Pittsburgh after sweeping the Cardinals prior to this series. 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change