Braves-Pirates Pointers

A winning streak will be on the line for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday when they battle the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park.

The Braves will pin their hopes on the pitching of righthander Jair Jurrjens in this game. Jurrjens has a 4-2 record and a 2.84 ERA this season.

Starting this game for the Pirates will be Zach Duke. The lefthander has a 4.60 ERA to go along with a 1-2 record this season.

Odds aren't yet posted for this game, so check back later for the opening line and total.

The Pirates won their second straight of a four-game series with a 5-2 win over the Braves on Saturday, as -120 favorites. The seven runs went UNDER the posted over/under (9.5).

Jason Bay cracked a two-run homer and Ronny Paulino drove in three runs for the Pirates. Tom Gorzelanny allowed two runs over 7 1-3 innings for the win, and Matt Capps picked up his ninth save.

Mark Teixeira went 2-for-3 at the plate, including a two-run homer for the Braves, who were listed at EVEN odds in that game. Chuck James gave up five runs on five hits over six innings of work to suffer the loss.

Current streak:
Atlanta has lost 2 straight games.
Pittsburgh has won 5 straight games.

Team records:
Atlanta: 18-17 SU
Pittsburgh: 17-19 SU

Atlanta most recently:
When playing on Monday are 3-7
Before playing Pittsburgh are 7-3
After playing Pittsburgh are 5-5
After a loss are 3-7

Pittsburgh most recently:
When playing on Monday are 7-3
Before playing Atlanta are 5-5
After playing Atlanta are 4-6
After a win are 5-5

A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Atlanta's last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Atlanta's last 13 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Atlanta is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Pittsburgh's last 13 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta

Next up:
Pittsburgh home to Atlanta, Monday, May 12

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