The Pirates are favored for the first time this month. Sign me up for the underdog, which in this case is Cleveland.

Pittsburgh is going for a three-game sweep of the Indians. I don't see it happening.

The Indians blew Saturday's game. It was a rare slip up by their bullpen, which has been very strong. Cleveland also didn't have its best everyday player, Jose Ramirez. He's expected back in the lineup today after suffering a bruised foot in Friday's game.

It's not like the Pirates have been playing well. They had dropped 10 in a row prior to this series. Cleveland was 6-1 entering the series.

The oddsmaker opened the Pirates as the favorite based on the starting pitching matchup of Sam Hentges versus JT Brubaker and Pittsburgh being home. The Pirates are 19-25 at home and the starting pitching matchup isn't that lopsided. Consider, too, the Indians' huge bullpen edge.

Hentges has a 7.57 ERA. He's also a southpaw. That's important here because the Pirates are 4-11 against lefties. They are last in slugging percentage versus southpaws and second-to-last in batting average with a .219 batting mark against lefties.

Brubaker has a 3.88 ERA. He made two appearances against the Indians last season and was lit up for eight runs in eight innings.

(Editor's note: Stephen Nover is 15-6 in his last 21 premium MLB side plays and has his MLB Underdog Game of the Year heading his Sunday ticket.)