Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Philadelphia Phillies Odds & Picks: July 10th 2009

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Philadelphia Phillies u9.0 (-110) - Fri July 10th 2009 7:05p
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Zach Duke of the Pittsburgh Pirates has finally regained the fine form he displayed as a rookie this season, while Joe Blanton has been on a nice role for the Philadelphia Phillies, so look to go Under at Citizens Bank Park Friday night.

Duke has been a disappointment the last couple of seasons, but he has matured nicely this season, going 8-7 while pitching for a losing team with a nice 3.20 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 118 innings. He has reeled off five consecutive Quality Starts and owns eight such starts in his last nine outings. Duke is facing a Phillies lineup that is batting a paltry .238 vs. left-handed pitchers here at home over this entire season.

Meanwhile, Blanton has turned things around nicely after a poor starts to this season. He has seven Quality Starts in his last eight appearances, and he allowed only four runs in the lone non-quality effort. He was downright dominant in his only start vs. the Pirates last season, allowing only one hit in seven scoreless innings, and he is catching a Pittsburgh team that has a .219 team batting average over the last 10 games.

Finally, the Under is 19-7-2 in the last 28 Pittsburgh games overall and 6-2 in the last eight Philadelphia games, and based on this matchup, look for both streaks to get extended here.

MLB Free Pick: Pirates, Phillies Under 9 (-110)