Baseball Handicapping: Pirates vs Athletics

Courtesy of OddsShark.com: The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Oakland Athletics will both be gunning for a victory on Friday when they meet at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Brad Lincoln will be the starting pitcher for the Pirates on this day. Righthander Lincoln is 0-1 this season with a 6.50 ERA. Lincoln's opponent in this one will be Ben Sheets. The Athletics righthander has a 4.95 ERA to go along with a 2-7 record this season. Oddsmakers currently have the Athletics listed as 180-moneyline favorites versus the Pirates, while the game's total has not yet been posted. The Pirates were defeated 6-5 by the Rangers last time out, as +250 underdogs. That game's 11 runs made it OVER the posted over/under (10.5) set by sportsbooks. Steven Jackson surrendered two hits and one run in the ninth to suffer the Pirates loss. The A's lost 3-0 and got swept by the Reds last time out, as +105 underdogs. The teams played UNDER that game's posted over/under (8.5) set by sportsbooks. Vin Mazzaro gave up six hits and two runs over seven innings in the loss. Current streak: Pittsburgh has lost 3 straight games. Oakland has lost 3 straight games. Team records: Pittsburgh: 25-47 SU Oakland: 34-40 SU Pittsburgh most recently: When playing on Friday are 6-4 Before playing Oakland are 1-5 After playing Texas are 3-7 After a loss are 1-9 Oakland most recently: When playing on Friday are 6-4 Before playing Pittsburgh are 6-0 After playing Cincinnati are 6-4 After a loss are 3-7 A few trends to consider: Pittsburgh is 2-15 SU in its last 17 games Pittsburgh is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road Pittsburgh is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Oakland Oakland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Oakland's last 15 games at home Oakland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home Oakland is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games Next up: Oakland home to Pittsburgh, Saturday, June 26 For winning point spread picks, Joe Duffy has his picks part of GodsTips, anchor of OffshoreInsiders.com A long-time veteran of the sports betting industry, Duffy got his start at Dial Sports 976 Dial It service and eventually became the most decorated scorephone handicapper in history.