Milwaukee pays a visit to Pittsburgh on Saturday, hoping to shut down the Pirates bats in baseball action at PNC Park.

Shaun Marcum, with a record of 5-3 on the season, gets the ball for the Brewers, while the Pirates trot Jeff Karstens to the mound in this one. He is 4-3 so far in 2012.



View Milwaukee vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had installed the Pirates as -125 moneyline favorites in this particular MLB matchup. The total, meanwhile, was set early at 8 before betting started to move the line.

Power Rankings:
The Pirates sit at No. 13 in the National League in the current MLB power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Brewers sit at a National League No. 11 on the same chart.



How They Match Up:
Rating these teams in several key categories is important for handicappers and Pittsburgh has the National League's No. 10-rated offensive output, at 8.2 hits per game. The Brewers average 8.6 hits per game, good for No. 8 on the National League list.

Milwaukee brings the National League's No. 14-rated defense to this matchup, facing the Pirates' league No. 7-ranked defense.

Last time out for Milwaukee, they were a 6-5 Sportsbook as they battled the Pirates on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Brewers at +107 were rewarded, while the 11 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. The Brewers hope for a dominant pitching performance similar to their last game when Michael Fiers struck out 10 batters in 6-5 victory on Friday at PNC Park.




Milwaukee Brewers Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 4-6
Before playing Pittsburgh are 7-3
After playing Pittsburgh are 6-4
After a win are 6-4

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 5-5
Before playing Milwaukee are 5-5
After playing Milwaukee are 4-6
After a loss are 3-7

A few Brewers at Pirates trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games on the road
Milwaukee is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Milwaukee's last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Milwaukee's last 5 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Pittsburgh's last 17 games


Next up:
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, Sunday, August 26