On June 17, the Pittsburgh Pirates (29-44) faced off against the Detroit Tigers (46-27) at Comerica Park. Bailey Falter was set to pitch for the Pirates against the Tigers' Casey Mize. Pittsburgh entered the game on a rough note, having lost three out of four games against the Cubs, while Detroit, despite a weekend series loss to the Reds, maintained the best record in MLB.

The game’s odds showed the Tigers as considerable favorites, reflecting their dominant performance this season. Falter’s recent form saw him with a 3.36 ERA, while Mize boasted an impressive 2.95 ERA. Despite their struggles, the Pirates had recently covered the spread in four of their last five road games. Key players like Javier Baez and Gleyber Torres had notable performances in the previous series, boosting their stats ahead of this matchup. Betting insights favored the Tigers to cover the spread and for the game total to exceed 8.0 runs.