Vegas Play of the Day: Pittsburgh Pirates at Arizona Diamondbacks

By Taylor Bern

Friday, Aug. 1, 2014 | 10:20 a.m.

Here’s the latest installment of the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point. Our three sports writers started with a $10,000 bankroll — fictional, of course.

Pittsburgh Pirates minus-113 at Arizona Diamondbacks: $339 to win $300

Much like my recent Play of the Day performances, Pirates starter Edison Volquez has taken a poor turn recently. Both of us are hoping for a bounce back today.

Volquez’s walks are up recently and in his last two starts, he hasn’t made it out of the sixth inning. However, it helps that Pittsburgh is playing the woeful Diamondbacks with Vidal Nuno and his 2-7 record on the mound.

Nuno came to Arizona from the New York Yankees in an early July trade. He’s been a little better in the desert than the Bronx, where his ERA was 5.42 at the time of the deal. But in four starts for the Diamondbacks, he’s allowed nine earned runs. All four were Arizona losses.

So while I have some doubts about the Pirates today and specifically Volquez, I like them in this spot against this pitcher.

Standings: Bern (40-28-1, $13,934), Keefer (32-37, $8,942), Brewer (28-38-3, $3,515)

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.