The Pittsburgh Pirates (1-4) face the Tampa Bay Rays (3-1) for the second game of a 3-game series Tuesday. First pitch from George M. Steinbrenner Field is slated for 7:05 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s MLB odds around the Pirates vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: Rays lead 1-0 after 6-1 win Monday.

The Pirates scored just 1 run on 4 hits and struck out 10 times Monday. They are hitting just .174 on the young season, which ranks 27th in baseball. They are leading MLB with 17 steals, though. OF Oneil Cruz has 5 of them in just 15 at-bats. The Pirates are turning to No. 3 prospect (No. 78 overall) RHP Tom Harrington . The 23-year-old will make his major league debut.

The Rays are 3-1 in their temporary home ballpark that is actually the New York Yankees’ spring training field. They have scored 6 runs in consecutive games as OF Jake Mangum went 4-for-4 with 2 RBIs and 2 steals Monday. The Rays are sixth in baseball with a .292 BA and third with a 2.00 ERA.

Pirates at Rays projected starters

Harrington makes his major league debut. He went 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 8 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis last year. He had a 0.93 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9 and 7.4 K/9 in 46 IP at Triple-A.

Baz makes his first start of the season. He went 4-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 14 starts last year. He had a 1.06 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9 and 7.8 K/9 in 79 1/3 IP.

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Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook ; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of MLB odds. Lines last updated at 1:16 p.m. ET.

Pirates at Rays picks and predictions

Prediction

Moneyline

This is a rough matchup for Harrington in his debut. The Rays are sixth (.292) in BA and seventh (.361) in OBP. They don’t hit for a lot of power, but they don’t have to – especially against a strike-thrower without wipeout stuff.

I love the Rays here, but I really don’t want to pay the -175.

Instead, you could SGP RAYS + RAYS OVER 3.5 TOTAL RUNS (-115) at a much better price. I’m also going with the run line, though, so take your pick here.

Run line/Against the spread

The Rays are top-5 in baseball in ERA (2.00, third), WHIP (0.81, second), K/9 (10.25, fourth) and homers allowed (1, first). The Pirates can run, but they’re having trouble getting on base, and as the old adage goes: You can’t steal first base.

Take the RAYS -1.5 (+125) if you opted against the previous SGP option.

Over/Under

It’s expected to be clear, 81 degrees and feature a light, 6-mph breeze headed out to right. The Pirates are 2-3 O/U thus far, and the Rays are 1-3 O/U.

If this forecasts as I expect it to, the UNDER 9 (-118) is safe here.

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