Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks: Braves vs. Pirates 5/11/25
Atlanta Braves vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
May 11, 2025 1:35 pm EDT
Major League Baseball presents Draftkings baseball fans with a National League matchup featuring the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Atlanta Braves vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings MLB single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for tonight’s Atlanta Braves vs. Pittsburgh Pirates matchup.
Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks
Captain-Chris Sale, Starting Pitcher, Atlanta Braves $12,200
On Sunday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents the final game of a three-game National League series featuring the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
How are these two teams playing entering tonight’s MLB game? The Atlanta Braves arrive at the third game of this three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates playing good baseball. The Braves have won five of the team’s last seven games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds two days ago.
In direct contrast to the Atlanta Braves, the Pittsburgh Pirates are not playing well entering this afternoon’s game. More specifically, the Pirates have lost eight of the team’s last nine games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 4-0 shutout loss to the San Diego Padres last week.
Now that we have identified how both of these teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to this evening’s contest. Starting pitcher Chris Sale has been a key contributor to the Atlanta Braves starting rotation this season. Having stated that, how has the veteran pitcher performed from a statistical standpoint? Let’s examine Sale’s relevant game data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.
In eight starts made this season, Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale has compiled a 4.07 ERA (Earned Run Average) and a 1.36 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched) in 2025. Additionally, Sale has amassed 56 strikeouts while allowing 11 walks in 42.1 innings pitched this season.
More recently, in the Atlanta Braves 2-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds five days ago, Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale certainly pitched at a high level. Sale pitched 6.2 quality innings while scattering five hits and two walks in the Braves victory over the Reds.
In my view, Chris Sale is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this MLB regular season contest. With that said, I am backing Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale at the captain position for this one game MLB DFS slate.
Flex plays I like to play well in this MLB regular season contest (Draftkings price noted): Austin Riley, Third Baseman (Atlanta Braves) $9,600: Andrew McCutchen, Outfielder (Pittsburgh Pirates) $7,800: Alex Verdugo, Outfielder (Atlanta Braves) $6,600.
