A key battle on the MLB odds menu sees visiting San Diego duelling Pittsburgh on Sunday at PNC Park.

It's a pitching duel between Erik Bedard for the Pirates (6-12 on the year) and Ross Ohlendorf for San Diego (2-2 so far).



View San Diego vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Pittsburgh opened as -165 moneyline favorites in this baseball match, based on the starting pitcher matchup. That pairing made odds makers settle on an Sportsbook over under number of 8.

Power Rankings:
According to new MLB Power Rankings here, it's the National League No. 12-ranked Pirates and the National League No. 13-rated Padres in this matchup.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Pittsburgh's No. 10-rated National League offense, averaging 4.1 runs per game, against a Padres defense that ranks No. 9 in the National League at 4.2 in runs allowed per game. The Pirates have averaged 8.1 hits per game so far, more than Padres batters have averaged on the year (7.9 hits per game).

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Pittsburgh has the National League's No. 4-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Padres own the National League's No. 9 mark in runs allowed.

In their last action, San Diego was a 5-0 Sportsbook on the road against the Pirates. Bettors on San Diego at +162 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (5) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. San Diego threw a shutout at Pittsburgh in their last outing, using a shutdown performance by Jason Marquis to defeat Pittsburgh 5-0 on Saturday.




San Diego Padres Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Atlanta are 7-3
After playing Pittsburgh are 8-2
After a win are 6-4

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 3-7
Before playing LA Dodgers are 3-7
After playing San Diego are 2-8
After a loss are 5-5

A few Padres at Pirates trends to consider:
San Diego is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
San Diego is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
San Diego is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Diego's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing at home against San Diego
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing San Diego
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games at home


Next up:
San Diego at Atlanta, Monday, August 13
Pittsburgh home to LA Dodgers, Monday, August 13