The Pirates will be trying to slam their rivals from the other league on Thursday, as the Detroit Tigers visit in inter-league play at PNC Park.

Pittsburgh hands the ball to starter Jeff Locke in this one and he'll try to improve on his 5-1 mark on the year. Detroit counters with Doug Fister, who will try to quiet the fans and the Pirates bats at the same time.



View Detroit vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Those who planned on backing the visitors in this one found the Tigers listed as favorites of 115 at most sportsbooks, including Sportsbook. Total bettors saw the number open in the area of 7.5, check for updates at Sportsbook.

Power Rankings:
This game puts the Pirates, most recently No. 5 in the National League Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings, up against the Tigers, who rate an American League No. 1 in the latest survey.



How They Match Up:
Scoring stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Pittsburgh's National League No. 11-ranked scoring average of 3.9 runs per game, against a Tigers offense rated No. 1 and scoring 5.3 runs per game in the league. The Pirates have averaged 8 hits per game to date this season, less than the Tigers hitters have managed (10.1 per nine innings).

Detroit brings the American League's No. 3-rated defense to this matchup, facing the Pirates' league No. 2-ranked defense.

In their last action, Detroit was a 5-3 loser on the road against the Pirates. Bettors on Pittsburgh at +109 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (8) sent OVER bettors home happy as well. Detroit suffered a 5-3 loss against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, as Anibal Sanchez wasn't able to lead his team to victory at PNC Park.




Detroit Tigers Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Baltimore are 6-4
After playing Pittsburgh are 5-5
After a loss are 5-5

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing Cincinnati are 3-7
After playing Detroit are 5-5
After a win are 7-3

A few Tigers at Pirates trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Detroit's last 10 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Detroit is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 6 games
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Pittsburgh's last 10 games when playing Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit


Next up:
Detroit at Baltimore, Friday, May 31
Pittsburgh home to Cincinnati, Friday, May 31