The Pittsburgh Pirates (62-71) will visit the Cleveland Guardians (76-58), Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET, in the first game of a three-game series.
The Guardians are favored at home (-170) against the Pirates (+142). The matchup on the mound for this contest is set with the Cleveland Guardians looking to Ben Lively (11-8), and Bailey Falter (6-7) taking the ball for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Guardians won 7-5 over the Royals Wednesday in their most recent game. Eli Morgan was named the winning pitcher after throwing 1 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run on one hit, while striking out two, while Josh Naylor finished 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI to lead them offensively.
The Pirates were defeated by the Cubs 14-10 Wednesday. Bryan Reynolds went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in the defeat, while David Bednar took the loss on the mound, pitching 2/3 of an inning, giving up five earned runs on three hits.
Prepare for the Guardians vs. Pirates with what you need to know about Friday’s baseball action, including viewing options.
Cleveland Guardians vs. Pittsburgh Pirates odds and betting lines
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 3:16 a.m. ET. For a full list of Sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
- Favorite: Guardians (-170, bet $170 to win $100)
- Underdog: Pirates (+142, bet $100 to win $142)
- Over/under: 8.5
Guardians vs. Pirates: Live streaming info & game time
- Game Day: Friday, August 30, 2024
- Game Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Progressive Field
- TV Channel: Bally Sports
- Live Stream: Fubo (Watch for free)
Guardians stats and trends
Guardians betting records
- The Guardians have been favorites in 83 games this season and won 54 (65.1%) of those contests.
- Cleveland has a record of 7-5, a 58.3% win rate, when favored by -170 or more by bookmakers this season.
- The moneyline for this contest implies a 63% chance of a victory for the Guardians.
- Cleveland’s games have gone over the total in 64 of its 134 chances.
- The Guardians have an ATS record of 67-66-0 in 133 games with a spread this season.
Ben Lively (Guardians probable starter)
- Lively makes the start for the Guardians, his 24th of the season. He is 11-8 with a 3.62 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 126 2/3 innings pitched.
- His last appearance was on Saturday against the Texas Rangers, when the right-hander threw 6 2/3 innings, surrendering two earned runs while giving up five hits.
- The 32-year-old has an ERA of 3.62, with 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings, in 23 games this season. Opponents are batting .233 against him.
- Lively is trying to extend a second-game quality start streak in this matchup.
- Lively will try to build on a three-game streak of lasting five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.5 innings per outing).
- He has had one outing this season in which he kept his opponents to zero earned runs.
- He will face off against a Pirates offense that ranks 22nd in MLB with 1069 total hits (on a .236 batting average). The squad also slugs a collective .375 (25th in MLB) with 132 total home runs (25th in MLB).
Guardians batting stats
- The Guardians have hit 152 homers this season, which ranks 15th in the league.
- The offense for Cleveland has a slugging percentage of .393 this season, 19th in MLB.
- The Guardians’ .237 batting average ranks 22nd in the league this season.
- Cleveland has scored 608 runs (4.5 per game) this season, which ranks 13th in MLB.
- The Guardians have an OBP of .309 this season, which ranks 17th in MLB.
- Cleveland has shown patience at the plate this season with the fourth-best rate of strikeouts per game (7.3) among MLB offenses.
Pirates stats and trends
Pirates betting records
- The Pirates have been victorious in 33, or 41.2%, of the 80 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season.
- This season, Pittsburgh has come away with a win six times in 20 chances when named as an underdog of at least +142 or worse on the moneyline.
- The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Pirates have a 41.3% chance of coming away with a victory in the contest.
- Pittsburgh and its opponents have gone over in 64 of its 133 games with a total set by sportsbooks this season.
- The Pirates are 73-59-0 against the spread in their 132 games that had a posted line this season.
Bailey Falter (Pirates probable starter)
- Falter (6-7) takes the mound first for the Pirates in his 23rd start of the season. He has a 4.25 ERA in 112 1/3 innings pitched, with 79 strikeouts.
- His last appearance was on Friday against the Cincinnati Reds, when the left-hander tossed five innings, surrendering five earned runs while allowing six hits.
- The 27-year-old has a 4.25 ERA and 6.3 strikeouts per nine innings across 22 games this season, while allowing a batting average of .260 to opposing hitters.
- Falter enters the matchup with seven quality starts under his belt this year.
- Falter is aiming for his third straight appearance lasting five or more innings. He averages 5.1 innings per start.
- He has made four appearances this season in which he did not allow an earned run.
- He will face off against a Guardians squad that is hitting .237 as a unit (22nd in the MLB). They are also slugging a collective .393 (19th in the league) with 152 total home runs (15th in MLB action).
Pirates batting stats
- The Pirates rank 25th in baseball with 132 total home runs.
- So far this season, Pittsburgh is 25th in the majors with a .375 slugging percentage.
- The Pirates have the 23rd-ranked batting average in the league (.236).
- The offense for Pittsburgh is the No. 22 offense in MLB, scoring 4.2 runs per game (560 total runs).
- The Pirates rank 25th in MLB with an on-base percentage of .303.
