Bryan Power

THE PLAY: Pittsburgh Pirates -157 Logan Webb (RHP), Paul Skenes (RHP) Must Start

After enjoying a rest advantage for Monday's makeup game in Atlanta, San Francisco will be at a rest disadvantage Tuesday in Pittsburgh. Even with the rare off-day on Sunday, this will be the third different city the Giants have played in over the last four days. The Pirates had Monday off after taking two of three in St. Louis over the weekend.

In addition to being rested, the Pirates are also sending Paul Skenes to the bump. It was certainly an encouraging sign to see Skenes' velocity back up his last time out when tossed six shutout innings vs. San Diego. While the results have not been as good as expected for Skenes this season (in terms of wins and losses), he's now allowed 3 ER or fewer in seven of his last nine starts.

While the Giants may have won 7-3 in Atlanta yesterday, they are still 24th in scoring for the season at 4.11 runs per game. They are also just 24-45 on the road. So it looks like a pretty favorable matchup for Skenes, which is why he's being priced in this range (north of -150) for just the second time in the L7 starts (Pirates won the previous one). The Giants' starting pitcher for Tuesday is Logan Webb, who - for his career - has traditionally not been as good on the road as he's been at home. Last road start saw Webb allow five runs. The Pirates are #3 in scoring at home (5.35 rpg).

THE PLAY: Eastern Michigan -3.5 (-109)

Both of these teams played in Week 0. Both covered the spread, although only Eastern Michigan won straight up (28-17). Not like anyone expected San Jose State to win as they were up against USC. But it ended up being closer than the oddsmakers thought with the Spartans easily covering as 37.5-point underdogs in a 42-26 loss. It's a much shorter spread for Week 1.

Now EMU is typically a team you want to back as an underdog as 79 of their previous 110 games have either been a SU win or a one-possession loss! But in the season opener against Sacramento State, the Eagles proved they can get the job done as chalk by covering the 9.5-point spread. This is an experienced team and I like the coach (Chris Creighton). Do not be surprised if EMU is a contender for the MAC Title Game this year.

Conversely, I am not that high on San Jose State, despite the "decent" showing against USC. Keep in mind the Spartans trailed 28-0 at halftime and 35-3 after three quarters. There were three late TD drives when the game was out of reach to make things appear more competitive than they actually were. Also, early in the 1H, USC had 1st & goal at the SJSU 7-yard line and ended up turning over on downs. It's a long trip to Ypsilanti for Ken Niumatalolo's crew. Don't like the spot for them, playing the second of B2B road games on a short week. EMU moves to 2-0 SU and covers the short number.