Padres at Pirates 5/19/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The San Diego Padres (17-28, 5th NL West) visit the Pittsburgh Pirates (26-17, 1st NL Central) on Saturday for the third game of a four-game series.

The two met on Thursday in the opening game of the series with Pittsburgh winning 5-4. The Pirates scored the go-ahead run during the seventh inning after a leadoff double by Gregory Polanco and a throwing error by the Padres. The win was Pittsburgh’s eighth in its last nine games. The Padres have lost two of their last three. Both Sean Rodriguez and Josh Bell had a pair of hits apiece for the Pirates. San Diego’s first baseman Eric Hosmer had three RBIs in the loss, while Freddy Galvis collected a pair of hits, prior to being tossed out of the game after arguing a called third strike. Eric Hosmer leads the Padres with a .269 batting average. Christian Villanueva has the team lead in home runs with 10 and RBIs with 22. San Diego has a team batting average of .229, while opposing hitters are averaging .253 at the plate against Padres pitching. On Saturday, the Padres will send Clayton Richard to the mound. The southpaw this season is 2-5 with an ERA of 5.20, 50 Ks and 21 BBs.

Corey Dickerson leads the Pirates with a .316 batting average and team high 28 RBIs. Gregory Polanco is the team leader in home runs with eight. Pittsburgh has a team batting average of .260, while opposing hitters are averaging .250 at the plate against Pirates pitching. Pittsburgh has not yet announced its starting pitcher for Saturday’s game.