The probable pitchers in this one couldn’t be more different. Nine-year veteran Nola for the Phillies has seen it all with more than 25 starts in five of those years. Greenhorn Priester for the Pirates is getting his first taste of the majors, with a perpetually struggling Pirate team in his third start ever, after being called up for an introduction to the majors on July 17th. In his last 5 starts Nola has a 2.80 ERA. In all of July his WHIP is 0.87. Priester’s welcome to the majors has been rough with a 9.28 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP although he did last 5.1 innings in each game.

In terms of support, the bullpens for both teams are a wash but at the plate, the Pirates have the 28th avg. and the 25th OPS in the majors over the last 15 days. The Phillies are more respectable at the plate with the 13th best avg. and the 15th best OPS in the last 15 days. The Phillies should have no problem covering the spread as young Priester has not shown that he can keep the score down, while veteran Nola has kept things in check well over his last 5 starts.