Padres vs Pirates Picks and Prediction – 5/2/2025

Scenic PNC Park will play host to a Friday night MLB clash between the San Diego Padres and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Be ready for the baseball season with all of our MLB predictions. The Padres (19-11) are two games below .500 on the road and trail Los Angeles by 1.5 games for first place in the NL West Division. On Wednesday, leadoff hitter Fernando Tatis Jr. went 3-for-4 with a run scored to spark San Diego to a 5-3 home victory versus San Francisco. 

Twenty-nine year old righty Dylan Cease (1-2 5.76 ERA) will take the mound for the Padres in this matchup. Through 29 plus innings, Cease has allowed three home runs and struck out 36 batters while posting an alarming 1.62 WHIP.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have dropped nine of their first 16 home games and are trying to climb out of the NL Central Division cellar. On Thursday, Pittsburgh SP Paul Skenes (3-3) was roughed up for three runs in five innings during an 8-3 home loss versus Chicago. OF Bryan Reynolds homered and drove in a pair of runs for the Pirates, who fell to 12-20 overall.

The Pirates will counter with twenty-nine year old righty Mitch Keller (1-2 3.97 ERA) in the series opener. Pittsburgh has lost Keller’s previous three starts and he has given up eight runs over his last 17 innings. 

Pittsburgh SP Jared Jones (elbow) has been transferred to the 60-day injured list and is not eligible to return until July 1st. Through 30 games, San Diego ranks 13th in OPS and 21st in runs scored. For the season, Pittsburgh ranks 27th in OPS and 24th in runs scored. Take the Pirates to win at home. Final Score Prediction, Pittsburgh Pirates win 4-3.