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Paul Skenes heads to the mound as the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the Chicago Cubs. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Pirates-Cubs prediction and pick.
Pirates-Cubs Projected Starters
Paul Skenes vs. Justin Steele
Paul Skenes (8-2) with a 2.23 ERA and a .95 WHIP
Last Start: Skenes went five innings in his last start, giving up five hits and a walk. He would surrender three runs, with two earned in a no decisions as the Pirates lost to the Cubs.
2024 Road Splits: Skenes is 3-1 on the this year with a 1.66 ERA and a .169 WHIP
Justin Steele (5-5) with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP
Last Start: Steelen went five innings in his last start, giving up six hits and two walks. HE would surrender just two runs in a win over the Pirates.
2024 Home Splits: Steele is 3-3 at home with a 3.43 ERA and a .215 opponent batting average.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Pirates-Cubs Odds
Pittsburgh Pirates: -1.5 (+138)
Moneyline: -126
Chicago Cubs: +1.5 (-166)
Moneyline: +108
Over: 7 (+110)
Under: 7 (-122)
How to Watch Pirates vs. Cubs
Time: 7:40 PM ET/ 4:40 PM PT
TV: SNP/MARQ
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why The Pirates Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Pirates are 22nd in the majors in runs scored while sitting 23rd in batting average, 26th in on-base percentage, and 26th in slugging. Bryan Reynolds leads the way. He is hitting .282 this year with a .349 on-base percentage. He has 21 home runs and 74 RBIs. Further, he has scored 64 times this year. Oneil Cruz has also been solid this year. He has a .274 batting average and a .329 on-base percentage on the year. Cruz has 18 home runs, 68 RBIs, and 61 runs scored. Rowdy Tellez rounds out the top bats on the year. He is hitting .257 this year with 12 home runs, 50 RBIs, and 37 runs scored.
Rowdy Tellez has been the top bat in the last week. He is hitting .471 in the last week with a home run and six RBIs. Further, he has scored twice in the last week. Oneil Cruz also comes into the game hot. He is hitting .423 in the last week with five RBIs and four runs scores, plus he has stolen three bases. Rounding out the best bats on the week has been Andrew McCutchen. He has played just two games since coming back from injury but is hitting .375 with a home run, four RBIs, and two runs scored. The Pirates are hitting .282 in the last week with seven home runs and 35 runs scored in six games.
Current Pirates have 116 career at-bats against Justin Steele. They have hit .276 against him. Bryan Reynolds has the most experience, going 5-21 with a home run and two RBIs. Meanwhile, Connor Joe is seven for 15 with a home run and three RBIs. Further. Oneil Cruz is four for ten with a home run and three RBIs.
Why The Cubs Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Cubs are 13th in runs scored this year, while sitting 19th in batting average, 11th in on-base percentage, and 18th in slugging. Ian Happ led the way this year. He is hitting .243 on the year with a .345 on-base percentage. Happ has 23 home runs and 77 RBIs. Further, he has stolen 11 bases and scored 79 times. Seiya Suzuki is also having a solid year. He is hitting .276 on the year with a .350 on-base percentage. Suzuki has 19 home runs and 64 RBIs while scoring 64 times on the year. Rounding out the top bats on the year is Cody Bellinger. Bellinger is hitting .264 this year with a .323 on-base percentage. He has 14 home runs, 59 RBIs, and has scored 56 times.
Dansby Swanson has been great in the last week. He is hitting .348 in the last week with a .444 on-base percentage. He has two home runs with 11 RBIs and nine runs scored in the last week. Miguel Amaya has been solid too. He is hitting .389 in the last week with eight RBIs and three runs scored. Pete Crow-Armstong rounds out the top bats in the last week. He is hitting .458 in the last week with six RBIs and nine runs scored. The Cubs are hitting .333 in the last week with 67 runs scored in six games.
Current Cubs have 50 career at-bats against Paul Skenes. They have hit just .200 against him with four RBIs. One of those RBIs comes from Nico Hoerner, who is 2-3 with a home run and an RBI. Meanwhile, Pete Crow-Armstrong is 2-4 with an RBI while Cody Bellinger is 1-5 with an RBI against Skenes.
Final Pirates-Cubs Prediction & Pick
Paul Skenes just faced the Cubs for the third time this year in his last start. He has given up six runs, with just five earned, in 15 innings of work. Further, the Pirates would be 3-0 in those starts, but last time against the Cubs, they gave up three runs in the eighth and six in the ninth to lose that game. Still, Justin Steele has been great as of late. He made five starts in August, going 3-9 with a 2.03 ERA as the Cubs won all five games he started. With two solid pitchers going, go with the team with the hot offense, and that is the Cubs.
Final Pirates-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Cubs ML (+108)
