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The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday night. The Orioles defeated the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Wednesday, completing the sweep, to improve to 54-51 this year. The Pirates currently hold a 43-62 record this season after their sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers this week.
Baltimore has been pretty good at home this season, holding a 29-20 record at Camden Yards. Pittsburgh has been awful away from home, holding just a 19-33 road mark this year.
"#RaiseIt" - Pirates
Baltimore will hand the ball to Dean Kremer for Friday's game. He is 3-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 10 starts thus far. Despite the decent ERA, the right-hander has allowed 10 earned runs in his past 9 2/3 innings. Kremer's 5.41 expected ERA indicates that he's been lucky this year and is bound to get lit up in the future.
The Pirates only score the third-fewest runs in the league, though, so expect Kremer to have a better start in the series opener.
"SERIES SWEEEEEEEEEEEP" - Orioles
Mitch Keller, who is 2-7 with a 4.45 ERA, will be taking the mound Friday for Pittsburgh. Over the last couple of weeks, Keller has been much better, though, holding a 1.80 ERA in his past four outings.
The Orioles offense is averaging 4.9 runs per game in their past seven, as they've woken up after a rough first few months. The O's haven't provided Kremer much run support this year, so we'll see if they can give him something to work with on Friday.
Baltimore Orioles vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Match Details
Fixture: Pittsburgh Pirates @ Baltimore Orioles
Date & Time: Friday, August 5, 7:05 p.m. EDT
Venue: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore Orioles vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Odds
Baltimore Orioles vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Best Picks
Anthony Santander has been solid lately, carrying a .979 OPS over the last month, so look for him to have another good day at the plate on Friday. In the last two weeks, he's also hit four homers and has a .388 average. He also has the luxury of playing in Camden Yards, which sees more homers than most stadiums.
Look for the switch hitter to extend his 14-game hitting streak from the middle of the order on Friday.
Pick: Anthony Santander Over 1.5 Total Bases (+110)
Baltimore Orioles vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Prediction
Baltimore has been hot at home recently as they've won 12 of their last 15 at Camden Yards. Also, they've done a great job beating up on teams with losing records as they're 27-16 against sub-.500 clubs. The Pirates are just 5-13 in Keller's starts, so look for the home team to lead after five.
Prediction: Orioles First 5 Innings -0.5 (-102) & Orioles Team Total Over 4.5 Runs (-115)
