Tigers vs. Pirates Prediction, Odds, Probable Pitchers, Prop Bets for Monday, Aug. 17

The Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates are both in the midst of a playoff race in their respective leagues.

The Tigers are 5.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central as well as one game back from a wild card spot. The Pirates' hopes of winning the NL Central are dashed, but if they get hot in the final month of the season, they have a chance to insert themselves in the hunt for a wild card spot. They're 6.5 games behind the San Diego Padres.

That makes this week's interleague series an interesting one. Let's dive into the odds and my best bets for tonight's opener.

Tigers vs. Pirates Odds, Run Line, and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Run line

Tigers -1.5 (+146)
Pirates +1.5 (-176)

Moneyline

Tigers -108
Pirates +100

Total

OVER 8.5 (-102)
UNDER 8.5 (-120)

Tigers vs. Pirates Probable Pitchers

Detroit: Framber Valdez, LHP (7-8, 4.26 ERA)
Pittsburgh: Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP (6-5, 3.79 ERA)

Tigers vs. Pirates How to Watch

Date: Monday, August 17
Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
Venue: PNC Park
How to Watch (TV): ESPN/ESPN App
Tigers record: 60-64
Pirates record: 61-65

Tigers vs. Pirates Best MLB Prop Bet

Bryan Reynolds Home Run (+560)

In today's edition of Daily Dinger, I made the case for betting on Bryan Reynolds to hit a home run:

We're going to follow a similar strategy and bet on another bat that's strong against left-handed pitchers.

Framber Valdez gets the start for the Tigers in this game, and he has struggled lately, including sporting a 7.13 ERA throughout July. He has also allowed two home runs across his last four starts. To try to take advantage of that, let's bet on the Pirates' left fielder, Bryan Reynolds. His slugging percentage improves from .407 against righties to .488 against lefties. He's a great bet tonight at +560 odds.

Tigers vs. Pirates Prediction and Best Bet

Instead of betting on a side in this game, I'm going to take the OVER. Framber Valdez gets the start for the Tigers, and he's struggled lately, currently sporting a 4.26 ERA this season. The Pirates should be able to get some runs off him early in the game.

On the other side of things, the Tigers offense has been one of the best in the Majors recently. They have the second-best wRC+ over the past 30 days at 119. If they can keep that momentum going in this game, they should be able to get after Carmen Mlodzinski and the Pirates' bullpen.

I'll sit back and root for runs tonight.

Pick: OVER 8.5 (-102) via FanDuel

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