The money line odds for tonight’s Pirates vs Cubs matchup have the Pirates favored at -128 compared to the Cubs at +107. The over/under line is currently at 6.5 runs, and this NL Central matchup can be seen on MARQ. First pitch from Wrigley Field is set for 7:40 PM ET.
Paul Skenes will go for the Pirates, and he is facing off against Kyle Hendricks. The Cubs are 71-67 and are 2nd in the NL Central, while the Pirates are 5th in the division with a record of 64-73.
Pirates Battle Cubs with Skenes on the Mound: Can Pittsburgh Break Their Losing Streak?
The Pirates are 64-73 overall and trail the Reds by one game for 4th place in the NL Central. They are 16.5 games behind the Brewers for the division lead. Pittsburgh is 21-19 in divisional matchups and 32-37 on the road. They are 32-36 at home. The Pirates have lost three straight games as the favorite and are 27-24 overall in that spot. As the underdog, they are 37-49.
Paul Skenes is 8-2 with a 2.23 ERA this season and has 13 quality starts in 18 outings. The Pirates are 76-61 against the run line and 57-29 as an underdog. The Pirates are facing the Cubs today, and the over/under line is set at 6.5 runs, which is lower than their average combined run line of 8.8. Pittsburgh’s over/under record for the season is 67-68. So far, they have gone over the total in all three games when the line is set at 6.5 runs. The Pirates offense is 20th in runs per game (4.2) and 22nd in homers (136). Bryan Reynolds leads the team in batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.349), home runs (22), and RBI (77). Oneil Cruz is hitting .367 over his last 7 games.
Red-Hot Cubs Look to Extend Winning Streak as Underdogs Against Pirates
The Cubs are 71-67 overall and 20-27 against the NL Central. They are 36-30 at home and 35-37 on the road. Chicago is 8-2 over their last 10 games and have won five straight series. The Cubs are 34-34 as the underdog and 37-33 as the favorite. They are the underdog today against the Pirates.
Chicago has a combined run average of 8.8 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 64-69. The over/under line for today’s game is 6.5 runs. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks is 3-10 with a 6.75 ERA and has an ERA of 9.44 on the road compared to 5.78 at home. The Cubs offense is 13th in scoring, averaging 4.6 runs per game. They have hit 146 home runs this season, which is 16th in the league.
Underdog Cubs Predicted to Edge Out Pirates 5-4 in Thrilling Matchup
Our predicted final score for today’s Pirates vs. Cubs matchup is 5-4 in favor of the Cubs. With the Cubs being the underdog at +107, we see this as a great value pick for today’s game.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Paul Skenes finishing with eight strikeouts compared to Kyle Hendricks with just four. Skenes is projected to give up two earned runs, while Hendricks is predicted to finish with an ERA of 3.50.
