Starling Marte and the Pittsburgh Pirates are traveling west to play their divisional rival Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The matchup will begin at 4:05 p.m. ET and fans can tune in to NBC Sports Chicago to catch the action.
Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs Odds
The Pirates are 65-82 SU and are 72-74 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 7.5 units for moneyline gamblers and 18.4 units ATS. The Cubs, on the other hand, are 78-68 SU and 68-77 ATS. The team has lost 5.9 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 8.9 units ATS.
Chicago games have a 65-69-11 over/under record in 2019. The Pirates have been a great over bet with a total record of 83-55-8.
Steven Brault will get the start for Pittsburgh. The left-handed Brault (4-4, 4.13 ERA) has recorded 82 strikeouts in 100.1 innings so far. He’s 0-1 with 10 strikeouts and a 4.50 ERA against Chicago this year.
The Cubs are handing the ball to lefty Jon Lester (12-10, 4.51 ERA), who has 154 strikeouts and 48 walks as well as a 1.46 WHIP. Lester is 2-0 with 13 strikeouts and a 1.84 ERA over three starts against Pittsburgh this year.
Pittsburgh’s pitchers have allowed 5.5 runs per game and its starters own a 5.23 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 8.26 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.76, along with a WHIP of 1.42 and a K-per-9 of 9.96.
Pirates hitters have slashed .266/.326/.428 on their way to 4.8 runs scored per game this season, including 4.6 runs per game against divisional foes and 4.0 per game over the team’s last five outings (3-2 SU).
Pittsburgh’s offense has been led by outfielders Starling Marte and Bryan Reynolds. Marte is slashing .295/.342/.503 with 23 home runs, 82 RBIs, 97 runs and 25 steals. Reynolds (.325/.387/.521) is up to 16 homers, 66 RBIs and 81 runs scored.
For the home team, Chicago’s pitching staff has yielded 4.3 runs per game overall this season. The club’s starting pitching staff has a 4.05 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 4.02 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 9.0 K/9. In 60 games against NL Central opponents, Cubs starters have an ERA of 3.80 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.38.
The Chicago hitters have produced 4.9 runs per contest, including 4.7 per game against divisional foes and 5.4 per game over their last five. The team has slashed .237/.301/.407 over its last five matchups and is 2-3 SU during that span.
The Cubs’ batters have been led by shortstop Javier Baez and third baseman Kris Bryant. Baez is slashing .281/.316/.532 with 29 home runs, 85 RBIs and 88 runs scored, and Bryant’s line is .281/.380/.520 with 28 homers, 69 RBIs and 101 runs.
The Pirates have lost 5.8 units and are 17-20 ATS when facing a lefty starter this season. The over has cashed in 25 of those games, compared to 11 that’ve gone under against left-handed starting pitchers. On the other hand, the Cubs have lost 8.5 units and are 12-19 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in 12 of those games, compared to 17 which went under the total.
Pirates at Cubs Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Cubs, ATS Winner – Pirates, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The over has cashed in four of Chicago’s last seven games.
- Chicago has posted 21.1 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 games and 22.2 over its last five.
- The Pirates have hit eight home runs in their last 10 games. The Cubs have hit 15 over their last 10.
- The Pirates have a total OPS of .755 this season, including an OPS of .653 when facing left-handed pitchers. The Cubs’ OPS stands at .779 overall and .720 against southpaws.
