Pirates vs. Tigers Betting Odds & Picks: Expect Pittsburgh to Pick Up Road Win on Tuesday (April 20)

After an off-day on Monday for both teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers will meet in an interleague bout on Tuesday evening. Each club will enter the contest below .500, with the Pirates (7-9) and the Tigers (6-10) both off to struggling starts this season.

Despite a subpar 3-6 road record so far this season, do the Pirates have what it takes to care of business against the last-place Tigers? Let's find out.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Tyler Anderson will make the start for the Pirates in the series opener. Anderson has been serviceable so far over his three starts this season, pitching to a 3.94 xFIP and striking out batters at a solid 8.04 K/9 clip. He was particularly strong in his last outing, allowing just one run over 5 1/3 innings en route to his first win of the season against the Padres.

While his 1.74 HR/9 is slightly above average, he’s managed to limit hard contact with just a 28.6% Hard Hit Rate and relatively low average exit velocity (86.2 mph) on balls put in play.

Anderson's matchup on Tuesday could not be better. The Tigers have been the worst team in baseball against left-handed pitching so far this season, collectively hitting to a paltry .225 wOBA and 0.69 ISO against southpaws.

The bullpen should also have no trouble handling the struggling Tigers offense, which has scored just two runs over their last three games. While the bullpen hasn’t been lights out, it’s been near league average with a 4.18 xFIP, 9.5 K/9 and 1.2 HR/9 thus far.

Detroit Tigers

On the other side, Michael Fulmer will get the nod for the Tigers. Fulmer put together a solid performance in his last outing, allowing just two earned runs on three hits over five innings against a depleted Astros lineup.

Fulmer missed the better part of the last two seasons due to injury, but he seems to be regaining form. In his last outing, he earned his first win since 2018 and was able to limit the damage in Houston.

While their current win-loss record doesn’t show it, the Pirates have been one of the better teams in baseball against right-handed pitching so far this season, registering a .316 wOBA (eighth-best in all of baseball).

Fulmer saw some success in his last performance, but he also hasn’t gone more than five innings since 2018 after starting this season in the bullpen. Given we’re still in mid-April, it’s very unlikely that manager A.J. Hinch allows him to go much further into this one.

Unfortunately for Detroit, things will get dicey once Fulmer exits. The Tigers currently have the worst bullpen in baseball, collectively pitching to a 5.11 xFIP and a 2.28 HR/9 rate thus far.

Pirates-Tigers Pick

While Anderson is by no means the safest starting pitcher to place a wager on, he’s been solid thus far for Pittsburgh and takes on a Tigers team that has been awful against lefties. The Pirates' bullpen, while not elite, also has enough firepower to close the door against a subpar opponent that has struggled mightily to score runs of late.

The Tigers, on the other hand, will have to turn to a league-worst bullpen once Fulmer exits, which should be relatively early given the fact he hasn’t thrown more than five innings since 2018.

Give me the road dog in the Pirates on Tuesday night. I’m comfortable playing this all the way down to +110.

Pick: Pirates +120 (play down to +110)