DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a>. The Marlins are +135 underdogs, with the game total set at O\/U 7.5 runs.<\/p>\nMarlins vs. Pirates Preview<\/p>\n
Miami Marlins<\/p>\n
South Beach is scalding hot as we head into summer, with the Marlins going an MLB-best 9\u20132 since the outset of June. With five regulars carrying a one-dot OPS this month \u2014 Esteury Ruiz leads the pack with a 1.196 mark in 17 plate appearances \u2014 Miami\u2019s formerly pedestrian offense ranks seventh league-wide in wRC+ and ninth in total runs scored since the calendar flipped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But wait, there\u2019s more. Even with two key starters, Eury Perez and Janson Junk, on the 15-day injured list, the Marlins\u2019 rotation paces the majors with a microscopic 2.50 ERA this month \u2014 more than a full run better than the next-closest mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That pitching brilliance has been thanks in large part to a breakout season from Sunday\u2019s starter, Max Meyer. The 27-year-old right-hander has posted an elite 2.85 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP through 14 starts (79 IP) in 2026. While a 3.87 xERA indicates some considerable batted-ball luck, Meyer is armed with a wicked arsenal of breaking balls and ranks in MLB\u2019s 79th percentile in strikeout rate.\u00a0 In his last outing, he turned in 5.1 innings of two-run ball on a pair of solo shots against the Diamondbacks.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Pirates<\/p>\n
For the first time in his career, Paul Skenes is getting some run support. Even with key injuries to Konnor Griffin, Oneil Cruz, and Joey Bart \u2014 all currently on the 10-day IL \u2014 Pittsburgh\u2019s offense has remained productive, ranking ninth in wRC+ since the beginning of June.<\/p>\n
But as run production has continued, run prevention has fallen by the wayside. The Pirates are off to a disappointing 4\u20137 start to the month, all seven losses coming in their last 10 games, fueled by a misfiring pitching staff that owns a swollen 6.49 ERA in June \u2014 just ahead of Colorado for the worst mark in the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, the outlook is far brighter when the reigning National League Cy Young takes the hill. Skenes has continued to shove in Year 3, posting a 2.84 (2.49 xERA) and a 0.93 WHIP through 14 starts (76 IP), while also maintaining one of the most satisfying Baseball Savant profiles around. However, the right-handed fireballer has stumbled of late, sporting a 4.50 ERA in his last five starts, all Pirates losses.<\/p>\n
Marlins vs. Pirates Pick, Best Bet<\/p>\n
Few teams are playing better baseball this month than the Marlins, who enter Sunday\u2019s rubber match against the Pirates powered by a pitching staff that has operated a cut above the rest of the league since the calendar flipped. Even against the Pittsburgh phenom, Miami offers strong value as a +139 road underdog.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Best Bet: Miami Marlins Moneyline (+139)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cooper Albers previews Sunday\u2019s MLB series finale between the Miami Marlins and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124,6653],"class_list":["post-307077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-rail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}