Bookie Beat Down May 17 - Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are among the hottest teams in the MLB right now (though we are backing the Padres Thursday night).

Pittsburgh area bookies will want to set up a Pay Per Head account or otherwise risk losing bigly the rest of the season.  This is a 25-17 team that has won eight of their last ten games. The Pay Per Head offers LIVE IN-PLAY WAGERING, casino games, prop and future bets, and other products that help to reduce losses. 

MLB.com offered this assessment of the Pirates after the 1st quarter of this season:

One thing we learned in the first quarter

There was more left in the cupboard than folks thought. Spring acquisition Corey Dickerson has been sensational. Colin Moran, acquired in the Gerrit Cole trade, has shown a big time bat as well. Meanwhile holdovers like Starling Marte, Francisco Cervelli and Josh Bell have helped round out a high-OBP offense that's second in the NL in runs.

One thing we'll be watching in the second quarter

There was a lot of hype over Jameson Taillon entering the year, and he started out looking like he'd justify it. But a 7.45 ERA over his past five starts brought questions. Taillon has ace ability; whether he pitches to that level will go as far as anything toward determining what this team accomplishes.

- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com