Detroit Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/8/2022

Time: 12:35 p.m. ET

Venue: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Where to watch: Bally Sports Detroit, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh

DraftKings: Pirates -120, Tigers +100

BetMGM: Pirates -115, Tigers -105

Caesars: Pirates -115, Tigers -105

Tigers: 22-33

Pirates: 24-29

In a rare instance where the pitching, primarily the bullpen, delivered for the Detroit Tigers, this was probably one of the more impressive wins in a long while for the Tigers, a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Tuesday.

After a late start due to weather, there will be a quick turnaround for the second game of this series, starting with a noon ET first pitch in Pittsburgh. So the Tigers won't have much time to celebrate this one before trying to win back-to-back games.

Tarik Skubal improved to 5-2 on the season with a strong seven-inning outing, but more importantly, an outing that manager A.J. Hinch was able to trust his ace to make happen. Skubal gave up three runs on six hits, but struck out nine.

Normally in a start like this, you'll see the manager overreact and pull him to prevent something like this from happening. At the very least, Skubal also outdueled Pittsburgh starter Jose Quintana, who didn't last longer than 3.1 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. Even striking out five wasn't able to save him.

But Skubal, who dropped his ERA to 2.33, has been tremendous and one of the lone bright spots for the Tigers' pitching rotation and hence why they are 11 games under .500.  Detroit third baseman Harold Castro went 1-for-4 with two RBI, and Willi Castro had two hits from the leadoff spot.

Javy Baez also had two hits, while Miguel Cabrera continues his world tour of dominance with a 1-for-5 outing, but his average is just under .300 which means he is an ageless wonder who needs to be dealt to a contender at all costs.

The Pirates, coming off a series victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, were held to just six hits but couldn't bring home any more after the two spot in the bottom of the fourth. Cal Mitchell went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer in the fourth, and Jack Suwinski continued his hot-hitting run by going 1-for-3. 

At the very least, at least no one had a more horrendous day than Michael Chavis. The first baseman went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts, but it only dropped his average to .272. There's a silver lining in there somewhere that we can't see, but at least that's a sign that guys other than Ke'Bryan Hayes are providing offense.

I think the quick turnaround helps the Pirates in this one. They only went 0 for 2 with runners in scoring position, and I expect them to be much better in this situation. Pittsburgh is 10-12 this season in day games, a much better ratio than 38-69 mark they've put together over the past three seasons combined. I expect a big bounce back from the Pirates. Pirates win 7-4

Tigers are 6-7 as a favorite this season.

Tigers are 4-1 the past three seasons as a road favorite.

Pirates are 34-40 the past three seasons when the line is between +125 and -125.

Tigers:
Willi Castro (S) LF
Spencer Torkelson (R) 1B
Jonathan Schoop (R) 2B
Miguel Cabrera (R) DH
Javier Baez (R) SS
Jeimer Candelario (S) 3B
Daz Cameron (R) RF
Eric Haase (R) C
Derek Hill (R) CF

Pirates:
Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B
Bryan Reynolds (S) CF
Jack Suwinski (L) LF
Michael Chavis (R) DH
Rodolfo Castro (S) SS
Cal Mitchell (L) RF
Tucupita Marcano (L) 2B
Yu Chang (R) 1B
Michael Perez (L) C

Batting average: Miguel Cabrera -- .298

Home runs: Jonathan Schoop -- 5

RBI: Miguel Cabrera -- 19

Wins: Tarik Skubal -- 5

ERA: Tarik Skubal -- 2.33

Batting average: Ke'Bryan Hayes -- .290

Home runs: Bryan Reynolds -- 8

RBI: Ke'Bryan Hayes -- 20

Wins: Dillon Peters -- 4

ERA: Jose Quintana -- 2.85