The Indians will be trying to slam their rivals from the other league on Friday, as the Pittsburgh Pirates visit in inter-league play at Progressive Field.

James McDonald, with a record of 5-2 on the season, gets the ball for the Pirates, while the Indians trot Justin Masterson to the mound in this one. He is 2-6 so far in 2012.



View Pittsburgh vs Cleveland Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had set the Indians as -130 favorites on the Sportsbook moneyline for this contest. The over under opened at 7.5 for bettors hoping to turn a profit on totals.

Power Rankings:
This game matches up the No. 11 (Indians) and the No. 15 (Pirates) teams in their respective leagues, according to our current MLB Power Rankings.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Cleveland's No. 8 ranked American League offense (4.4 runs per game) against a Pirates defense and pitching staff that sits at No. 3 in the National League at 3.8 runs allowed per game. The Indians have been averaging 8.6 hits per game, more than the Pirates have managed so far this season (7.4 hits on average).

Cleveland owns the American League's No. 13 defense, allowing 4.9 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Pittsburgh's National League No. 3-rated defense.

Last time out for Pittsburgh, they were a 12-6 loser as they battled the Orioles on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Orioles at -111 were rewarded, while the 18 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. Pittsburgh didn't get the job done in their last match, falling 12-6 to Baltimore on Thursday at Camden Yards.

In their last action, Cleveland was a 12-5 loser on the road against the Reds. Bettors on Cincinnati at -122 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (17) sent OVER bettors home happy as well. Cleveland suffered a 12-5 loss against Cincinnati on Thursday, as Josh Tomlin wasn't able to lead his team to victory at Great American Ball Park.


Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Cleveland are 4-6
After playing Baltimore are 6-4
After a loss are 7-3

Cleveland Indians Trends:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
Before playing Pittsburgh are 4-6
After playing Cincinnati are 7-3
After a loss are 5-5

A few Pirates at Indians trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 10 games
Cleveland is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland's last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland's last 7 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cleveland's last 6 games


Next up:
Pittsburgh at Cleveland, Saturday, June 16