Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Atlanta Braves Picks and Prediction for Friday, September 26, 2025
Use Code SSWC In the opening game of a three-game National League series, the Pittsburgh Pirates are taking on the Atlanta Braves inside Truist Park on Friday evening in our Pirates vs. Braves prediction. The Pirates are coming off a 2-1 road loss against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, while the Braves were off. The Pirates are fifth in the NL Central with a 69-90 record and are sending righty Mitch Keller to the mound. The Braves are fourth in the NL East with a 75-84 record and have southpaw Joey Wentz taking the ball. Cover the diamond — MLB picks for Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Atlanta Braves in a fast read.
Pirates Ready to Attack
The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to build some momentum into the offseason after their 2-1 road loss against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. The lineup was held to go just 3-for-30 with one walk and 14 strikeouts on the day. The Pirates went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and stranded three men on base. Brandon Ashcraft recorded the loss as he pitched 4.1 innings and gave up two runs.
The Pirates are sending right-hander Mitch Keller to pitch and he is holding his own as in 31 starts, he is 6-15 in 172.2 innings with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has been struggling a bit with the ability to keep the ball in the park, as he has allowed 20 home runs so far. Keller faced Atlanta once last season in a victory as he allowed one run on six hits with one hit by pitch, zero walks, and four strikeouts in 6.2 innings.
Injury Report for Pittsburgh
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- Center fielder Oneil Cruz: Ankle (Questionable)
- Second baseman Ronny Simon: Shoulder (OUT)
- First baseman Endy Rodriguez: Elbow (OUT)
- First baseman Enmanuel Valdez: Shoulder (OUT)
- Pitcher Jared Jones: Elbow (OUT)
Braves Looking at End of Brutal Season
The Atlanta Braves are looking to recover after Wednesday’s 4-3 home loss against the Washington Nationals in their most recent game. The Braves were able to go 6-for-33 with seven walks and 11 strikeouts at the plate as Drake Baldwin, Marcell Ozuna, and Elie White each hit solo home runs while Michael Harris II stole a base. Atlanta finished 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position while leaving 10 men on base. Bryce Elder pitched well in the loss as he allowed three runs over seven innings of work.
Left-hander Joey Wentz is going to be taking the mound for the Atlanta Braves in this game and has been struggling as he is 5-6 with a 5.46 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 94.0 innings over 38 games (12 starts). He has been giving up a lot of hits as he has a .273 batting average against so far this season. It will be interesting to see how he does against his teammates from earlier this season.
Injury Report for Atlanta
- Third baseman Vidal Brujan: Hip (Questionable)
- Second baseman Ozzie Albies: Arm (OUT)
- Pitcher Daysbel Hernandez: Shoulder (OUT)
- Pitcher Aaron Bummer: Shoulder (OUT)
- Right fielder Jake Fraley: Oblique (OUT)
- Catcher Sean Murphy: Hip (OUT)
- Pitcher Grant Holmes: Elbow (OUT)
- Pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach: Elbow (OUT)
- Pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver: Calf/Elbow (OUT)
- Pitcher Reynaldo Lopez: Shoulder (OUT)
- Pitcher Joe Jimenez: Knee (OUT)
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Atlanta Braves Pick
Spread Pick for Pirates vs. Braves
- Atlanta Braves -182 (5 units)
When looking at how these offenses are doing lately, there is a gap as the Pirates are averaging 4.17 runs in their last six games, while the Braves are scoring 6.5 runs per game in that same stretch. When expanding the abilities to September as a whole, Atlanta is fifth in the bigs with a .764 team OPS while Pittsburgh is down at 29th with just a .610 team OPS in that stretch of games. The Braves are 4-3 in the last seven games against the Pirates, so go with the Atlanta Braves to record the win here.
Over/Under Pick for Pirates vs. Braves
- Under (4 units)
Both bullpens are holding their own this season as Pittsburgh is 13th with a 3.86 reliever ERA while Atlanta is 19th with a 4.21 bullpen ERA thus far. There is a real inability to hit with runners in scoring position this season as the Pirates are dead last with a .666 team OPS in those at-bat,s while the Braes are 13th with a .755 team OPS with runners in scoring position. The under has hit in the last six games against one another, so take the under in this game as well.
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