The Pittsburgh Pirates battle the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday in MLB betting action at PNC Park.

Charlie Morton gets the call for the Pittsburgh Pirates and he will try to build on a 4-1 mark. In the other dugout, Jon Garland brings a 1-2 ledger to the game for the Dodgers as he tries to quiet the Pirates bats.



View LA Dodgers vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
The visitors opened as +-125 moneyline underdogs in this one at most online sportsbooks tracked at Odds Shark. The total opened at 7.5 for those preferring over under wagers.

Power Rankings:
According to new MLB Power Rankings here, it's the National League No. 16-ranked Pirates and the National League No. 12-rated Dodgers in this matchup.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Pittsburgh's No. 14 ranked National League offense (3.6 runs per game) against a Dodgers defense and pitching staff that sits at No. 12 in the National League at 4.4 runs allowed per game. The Pirates have been averaging 7.6 hits per game, less than the Dodgers have managed so far this season (8.8 hits on average).

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Pittsburgh has the National League's No. 7-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Dodgers own the National League's No. 12 mark in runs allowed.

In their last action, Los Angeles was a 2-0 Sportsbook on the road against the Pirates. Bettors on Los Angeles at -106 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (2) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. Hiroki Kuroda chucked 7 shutout innings at the Pirates in their last game, striking out 8 in a 2-0 win against Pittsburgh in baseball action at PNC Park.




Los Angeles Dodgers Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 3-7
Before playing Arizona are 7-3
After playing Pittsburgh are 7-3
After a win are 4-6

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 2-8
Before playing Milwaukee are 4-6
After playing LA Dodgers are 2-8
After a loss are 7-3

A few Dodgers at Pirates trends to consider:
LA Dodgers are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Dodgers' last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Dodgers' last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 18 of LA Dodgers' last 25 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Pittsburgh's last 10 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 18 of Pittsburgh's last 25 games when playing at home against LA Dodgers
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing LA Dodgers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games


Next up:
LA Dodgers home to Arizona, Friday, May 13
Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, Friday, May 13