GIANTS at PIRATES (+1.5 runline, -130) – 7:05 pm ET #904

Not an official play, but I would rate Pittsburgh as a light lean tonight.

The Giants, losers of four straight games, head to Pittsburgh to begin a 3-game set with the Pirates. San Francisco was swept at home by Atlanta in a series where they were outscored 18-9. Matt Cain had one of those losses after he gave up 6 runs and nine hits in almost five innings of work. Cain faced the Pirates last year giving up 3 runs and five hits in six innings pitched. The righty is only 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA in seven career starts against the Pirates. Lyle Overbay (1-3) and Garrett Jones (3-9) have hit Cain well. The Pirates are hitting almost .260 in their last eight games, and they just took a series from the Nationals at home. The Giants’ bullpen is 4-3 with a 3.60 ERA and four blown saves this season.

The Giants have lost five of their last seven games. Over that span, they are hitting just .198 as a team. They'll face Charlie Morton who has improved for the most part outside of his last outing against Florida. Morton is 2-1 with a 3.33 ERA in four starts this season. He has given up just 11 runs in those starts with 6 runs coming in his last start against the Marlins. The righty has changed his delivery which has helped fix his shortcomings. Mark DeRosa (1-5), Cody Ross (1-7) and Pablo Sandoval (1-9) struggle with the Pittsburgh pitcher. The Pirates’ bullpen has an ERA under 3.00 this season. Pittsburgh has split their last six games with the Giants at home, and we think they'll keep it close against San Francisco once again tonight.