The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to bolster their win total and reward moneyline bettors when the Atlanta Braves invade PNC Park on Friday.

Tim Hudson gets the ball in front of a hostile crowd for the Braves on this day; he's 2-0 on the season. The Pirates, meanwhile, will counter with Wandy Rodriguez, who will be looking to improve on his 1-0 mark.



View Atlanta vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks such as Sportsbook had installed the Pirates as +117 moneyline underdogs in this particular MLB matchup. The total, meanwhile, was set early at 7 before betting at Sportsbook started to move the line.

Power Rankings:
According to new MLB Power Rankings here, it's the National League No. 10-ranked Pirates and the National League No. 11-rated Braves in this matchup.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Pittsburgh's No. 11-rated National League offense, averaging 3.7 runs per game, against a Braves defense that ranks No. 1 in the National League at 2.1 in runs allowed per game. The Pirates have averaged 7.1 hits per game so far, less than Braves batters have averaged on the year (8.7 hits per game).

Pittsburgh owns the National League's No. 6 defense, allowing 4.2 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Atlanta's National League No. 1-rated defense.

The Braves were a 6-4 Sportsbook in their most recent outing on the road against the Pirates. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got Atlanta at -108 on the moneyline, while the total score (10) was good news for OVER bettors. The Braves grabbed a win last time out, defeating Jeff Locke and the Pirates 6-4 on Thursday at PNC Park.




Atlanta Braves Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Pittsburgh are 6-4
After playing Pittsburgh are 4-6
After a win are 9-1

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing Atlanta are 5-5
After playing Atlanta are 4-6
After a loss are 6-4

A few Braves at Pirates trends to consider:
Atlanta is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Atlanta is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Pittsburgh's last 19 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Pittsburgh's last 18 games when playing Atlanta


Next up:
Atlanta at Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 20