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Oakland Athletics @ Pittsburgh Pirates

I’m backing Pittsburgh because Mike Burrows keeps traffic scarce with a 1.24 WHIP, and his 94 strikeouts in 90 innings give him the out pitch when he needs it. That profile punishes Oakland’s free swingers, with Brent Rooker already sitting on 148 strikeouts. On the other side, Mitch Spence’s 4.48 ERA and a .261 average allowed signal leakage, so the Pirates should see chances rather than droughts. I know Pittsburgh’s bats can stall—Bryan Reynolds has 168 strikeouts—but Burrows holding hitters to a .240 average keeps this in his control long enough for a couple of patient at-bats to cash in.