Success on the road has been scarce for the Pittsburgh Pirates lately and they had lost 10 of 11 away from home before an 8-1 triumph at Seattle on Wednesday. Friday night they'll visit a shell-shocked Oakland Athletics team that took a 12-6 beating by their Bay Area rival last night, and I think the Pirates can pull an upset in this contest.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The A's hand the ball to Sonny Gray (3-6, 5.03), one of many presumed aces that have struggled in the major leagues this season. Oakland has won just two of his last 10 starts and he's 2-6 with a 5.95 ERA in 10 starts under the lights. The Pirates counter with Jeff Locke who is coming off back-to-back wins while allowing just a total of one run in 10 2/3 innings combined against the Dodgers and the Giants. Locke is 4-2 with a 4.02 ERA in nine night starts which are superior numbers compared to his day starts.

2. Situational - Pittsburgh is 6-1 in its last seven games following an off day, and its still 10-4 in its last 14 road games vs. a team with a losing record despite its recent road woes.

3. X-Factor - Starling Marte is red hot and he had three hits in Thursday night's win to improve to 9-for-25 during a six-game hitting streak

Selection: This is a play on the Pittsburgh Pirates +1.5 (8*)