Atlanta Braves vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 05/09/25

We head to Pittsburgh on Friday night for the start of a series between the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates definitely have the situational advantage, as they had Thursday off while the Braves needed 11 innings to dispatch the Reds. Still, it is really hard to back the Pirates right now. They have lost 4 consecutive series and 7 straight games, including back-to-back sweeps by the Cardinals and Padres. Everything seems in disarray in Pittsburgh and it is catching the Braves at a bad time, too. Atlanta has finally righted the ship and started to climb the standings. I think this is a pretty easy Braves money-line pick.

The pitching matchup is mundane at best. Bryce Elder and Bailer Falter will take the ball for their respective teams. Elder has been adequate for Atlanta, managing 5 or 6 innings in each start. He isn’t a power arm, but the Pirates have the second-worst slugging percentage versus right-handed pitching — so Elder should be fine on Friday. Falter is a pedestrian lefty. He will post a quality start now and again, and then he will get chased in the fourth inning. He has given up a fair number of homers and the wind is blowing out on a cool night, so that could be an issue. I worry a bit about the Atlanta bullpen following an extra-inning game, but even with that I can’t bring myself to bet on the Pirates. They are a mess.

Braves vs Pirates prediction: Atlanta ML (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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