Philadelphia Phillies vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 05/16/26

The MLB’s rivalry weekend continues on Saturday with the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates squaring off to see which is the best team in Pennsylvania. The Phillies drew first blood on Friday evening in a high-scoring 11-9 victory, and they’ll have the pitching advantage on Saturday afternoon with Cristopher Sanchez taking the mound against Bubba Chandler.

Sanchez has been one of the top starters in the National League this season with a 2.11 ERA, but his last two starts have been dominant, going 15 innings with no earned runs allowed, just nine hits, and one walk. He has also been overpowering batters, with 17 strikeouts over that time. The problem for Sanchez is that the Pirates’ offense has been red-hot recently, scoring 42 runs over their last six games.

The Pirates’ offense has been hot, but they’ve still only won five of their last 10 games and are starting to fall behind in the NL Central standings. Chandler hopes to bring some stability to the pitching staff on Saturday after recording three consecutive starts where he went five innings with three or fewer earned runs allowed.

It isn’t a bet that will make anyone feel too comfortable with Sanchez on the mound, but it feels like what could be another high-scoring game with the leverage parts of both teams’ bullpens taxed on Friday night.

Phillies vs Pirates prediction: Over 8 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable to that number.