The Giants record is a little misleading and a lot not. They've been bad, but Roupp has not been the reason — he's the closest thing this rotation has to a stabilizer right now with Logan Webb pitching through knee discomfort. The bigger problem is that the bullpen behind him is held together with tape. We'll get to that.
- Day-To-DayAnthony Solometo (SP) — Solometo is sidelined at Double-A Altoona with recurring left shoulder discomfort, Jose Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayOddanier Mosqueda (RP) — Mosqueda will not throw for a couple weeks due to left forearm inflammation, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayMike Clevinger (RP) — Clevinger is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks after being diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his right knee, Jason Mackey of MLB.com reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayDominic Fletcher (RF) — Fletcher (shoulder) had his rehab assignment transferred to Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday and went 2-for-7 with a solo home run and a walk in his first two rehab games with the club.05/08
- Day-To-DaySean Sullivan (SP) — Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Sullivan is battling right elbow soreness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILJake Mangum (LF) — The Pirates placed Mangum on the 10-day injured list Friday with a left hamstring strain, retroactive to Wednesday.05/08
- 15-Day-ILChris Devenski (RP) — The Pirates placed Devenski on the 15-day injured list Thursday due to an illness.05/08
- 60-Day-ILJared Jones (SP) — Jones (elbow) allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk while striking out two across three innings in a rehab outing with Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.05/08
- Day-To-DayLogan Webb (SP) — Manager Tony Vitello said after Tuesday's loss to the Padres that Webb was dealing with knee discomfort during his start, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILHarrison Bader (CF) — Bader (hamstring) went 1-for-3 in Triple-A Sacramento's 4-0 loss to Reno on Tuesday.05/08
- 10-Day-ILDaniel Susac (C) — Susac (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.05/08
- 15-Day-ILSam Hentges (RP) — Hentges (knee/shoulder) struck out one in a scoreless inning during Triple-A Sacramento's 7-6 win over Tacoma on Wednesday.05/08
- 15-Day-ILErik Miller (RP) — Miller (back) will throw a bullpen session Thursday before beginning a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILJared Oliva (CF) — The Giants transferred Oliva (wrist) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.05/08
- 60-Day-ILRowan Wick (RP) — The Giants placed Wick (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILHayden Birdsong (RP) — Birdsong underwent successful UCL reconstruction surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILReiver Sanmartin (RP) — The Giants placed Sanmartin (hip) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.05/08
- 60-Day-ILJason Foley (RP) — Foley (shoulder) is throwing live batting practice Tuesday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILRandy Rodriguez (RP) — The Giants placed Rodriguez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILJose Butto (RP) — The Giants transferred Butto (arm) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08
Look at the Giants relief list and tell me how Bob Melvin sleeps. Wick, Birdsong, Foley, Rodriguez, Sanmartin, Butto — all on the 60-day. Hentges and Miller on the 15. That's the entire setup tier of a real bullpen sitting in rehab. Pittsburgh isn't exactly healthy either (Clevinger out 6 weeks with an MCL sprain, Devenski sick, Mosqueda's forearm), but the Pirates can at least hand a 6th-inning lead to someone who's been throwing in big-league games this month.
Now the funny part. The market has San Francisco as a slight home favorite at -132 on Pinnacle, with DraftKings public money piling on the home moneyline at 51% handle vs. just 39% of bets — i.e., sharper money on the Giants. The fair-price model says the actual edge is on San Francisco at +EV on the home ML. The Pirates are the better team on paper and the road favorite by raw line, but you're paying a tax for it.
Total sits at 7.5 with juice slightly to the under. Two starters with sub-3.20 ERAs in a pitcher's park, at night, with marine layer rolling in — that's the textbook under setup. The textbook also says 66% of DK tickets are on the over because retail bettors hate watching 3-2 games. Pick your side.
Pittsburgh has won 3 of its last 5 and looks like a team that's actually buying into being decent. The Giants alternated wins and losses across their last 5 and feel like a team trying to figure out who they are without Webb at full strength and without half the bullpen. First pitch is 8:05 PM ET. Take Ashcraft going 6 strong and see what happens when the bullpens decide it.