At Wrigley Field Wednesday night, two National League Central competitors will cross paths for the third of a three-game series. The Chicago Cubs have beaten the Pittsburgh Pirates in both of the previous two tilts by a combined 16-0 score.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have slumped as of late, losing four of six. Their triumphs during that stretch were against lowly Cincinnati. Only the Reds and Washington Nationals have less wins to this point.
The Chichago Cubs (15-20) are riding a four-game win streak, claiming two each against Pittsburgh and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Chicago has outclassed the Pirates by a combined 45-12 score in six matchups so far.
The Cubs currently reside in the middle of the division, behind St. Louis and Milwaukee.
Over the past seven days, Chicago has been on a tear in the batter’s box. A half-dozen different batters – including catcher Yan Gomes, center fielder Ian Happ, and right fielder Seiya Suzuki – have averages at or above .286. Just as many have at least one home run during that same stretch of time.
Overall for the Cubs, Happ paces the offense with a .280 average and a .400 on-base percentage. Suzuki has a team-high 18 RBIs, and third baseman Patrick Wisdom has six dingers.
Pirates at Cubs Odds
MLB odds have the Cubs as favorites to sweep this series. Chicago is -1.5 on the run line at +130, while the Pirates are -150 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, Chicago is -160 and Pittsburgh +135 underdogs. The total has been set at eight runs, with the over being -105and the under -115 at the time of this writing.
Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has been a bright spot for the Buccos. He boasts a team-leading .293 batting average and a .390 on-base percentage. In the last week, though, he’s gone cold, hitting .190.
Another notable name for Pittsburgh, left fielder Bryan Reynolds, has gotten off to a frustrating start at the dish. This offense is powered by this duo, and neither is having much success.
Outfielder Ben Gamel (15 RBIs) and first baseman Daniel Vogelbach (six homers) are doing their part to help a recently listless offense.
With an ordinary hurler on the hill for the home team, the Pirates can only hope to be able to put something together and snap out of their funk. In fact, Pittsburgh has already beaten the pitcher that Chicago is putting on the hill this season.
Matchup Information
Pirates at Cubs Betting Preview
Drew Smyly, an 11-year veteran lefty with his sixth club in as many years, will make the start for the Cubs. He has a 1-4 record and a 3.64 ERA thus far.
Smyly allowed Arizona ten knocks, and four earned runs through six frames of work last Friday. He’s a pitcher who gets his outs through contact, only striking out 3.1 batters per nine innings throughout his career.
Worth noting, the Diamondbacks have the second-worst offense in terms of batting average in the bigs. MLB expert picks figure this leaves the door open for the Pirates to flip their fortunes.
The Pirates had not named their starter at the time of this writing. The team hasn’t had all that much success on the rubber, showing a 4.76 ERA as a whole, which ranks toward the bottom of the league.
Pirates at Cubs Betting Predictions
The Pirates just haven’t been able to piece together worthwhile performances. They figure to be one of the worst teams in baseball. Chicago, however, only sits seven games back in the grouping and looks to be coming together.
Pittsburgh’s offense has been virtually non-existent as of late, having followed up being no-hit with a pair of futile scoreless efforts. Not to mention, the Buccos have had trouble against divisional foes. Even with Smyly getting the ball for the Cubbies, the Pirates aren’t in a favorable situation.
The MLB betting picks aren’t complicated in this one. Signs point to the Cubs to defend their home diamond.
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