San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prop Pick: Will Blake Snell Bounce Back After Injury?
The San Francisco Giants will trot Blake Snell back out to the mound tonight after a month-long stint on the IL. Can Snell find success against the Pirates in his first start back? Ben Rajavuori is targeting him with his top prop pick in Giants vs. Pirates.
Ben Rajavuori
| 5 min
San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prop Pick: Will Blake Snell Bounce Back After Injury?
The San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates will meet for game two of their three-game series from PNC Park tonight. The Pirates won a high-scoring game by a score of 7-6 last night and lead the series 1-0. Tonight, Blake Snell is back in action after returning from injury to face off against Jared Jones of the Pirates.
GIANTS VS. PIRATES DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: May 21, 2024
- Start Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: MLB Extra Innings
San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction
Blake Snell had a rough start to the season before heading on the IL with a leg injury. He has only had three starts this season, but is sporting an 11.57 ERA and recorded a loss in all three starts. Now, he is returning off the IL after two starts in the minor leagues.
Snell was absolutely clinical in both rehab starts in the minor leagues, pitching nine shut-out innings with 17 strikeouts and not giving up a single hit across both starts. Tonight, he faces a struggling Pirates lineup that has not done very well against left-handed pitching this season. The Pirates are hitting .238 against left-handed pitching and have the sixth-highest strikeout rate against lefties this season at 24.6%. Blake Snell has been long regarded as one of the best strikeouts in the major leagues. He has been above an 11 K/9 for the last six seasons and sported an 11.7 K/9 last year with the Padres. He struggled to start the year, but his strikeout stuff has still been there, and his strikeout pitches were working well for him in the minors.
Blake Snell's strikeout line tonight is just sitting at 5.5 because he will be on a pitch count as this is his first start back from injury. Even with the pinch count, this feels like a line Snell can hit even in a limited start. In 53 at-bats versus this Pirates lineup tonight, Snell has 22 strikeouts. That’s an enormously high 41% strikeout rate in those at-bats. The Pirates also have not been walking much against left-handed pitching, so Snell should be able to keep his pitch count low and get to six strikeouts before he hits his pitch count tonight. Take this discounted line in Snell's first start back and bank on him hitting six before he gets pulled on his pitch count.
San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prop Pick
Pick: Blake Snell Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-135) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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