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It is the start of an NL Central weekend series as the Pittsburgh Pirates face the Chicago Cubs. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Pirates-Cubs prediction and pick.
Heading into the seires, the Pirates will be in third place in the NL Central. They are 19-24 before the final game of their series with the Milwaukee Brewers. They have split the first two games of the series and will play the final game on Wednesday afternoon. The Pirates will send Martin Perez to the mound for their last game with the Brewers. He is 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA.
The Cubs are 24-19 on the year before their final game with the Braves. Currently, the Cubs have lost both games against the Braves, and have yet to score a run in the series. They are sending Jaview Assad to the mound. He is 3-0 with a 1.70 ERA.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Pirates-Cubs Odds
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-200)
Moneyline: +116
Chicago Cubs: -1.5 (+164(
Moneyline: -134
Over: 7.5 (-120)
Under: 7.5 (-102)
How to Watch Pirates vs. Cubs
Time: 7:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
TV: SNP/MARQ
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Pirates Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Pirates are 26th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting 27th in batting average, 23rd in on-base percentage, and 27th in slugging. Connor Joe has led the way this year. He is hitting .293 on the year with a .370 on-base percentage. He has hit ten doubles and six home runs, leading to 21 RBIs. Further, he has scored 24 times in the year. Bryan Reynolds is also producing well this year. He is hitting .250 on the year with a .344 on-base percentage. He has 11 doubles a triple, and five home runs. This has led to 19 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
Oneill Cruz leads the team in home runs this year. He is hitting .271 on the year with a .319 on-base percentage. Crus has eight doubles and seven home runs this year, leading to 18 RBIs and 17 runs scored. He was having a solid last week too. In the last week, he is hitting .417 with two home runs and six RBIs.
Pirates pitching is 14th in team ERA while sitting 13th in wHIP and 16th in opponent batting average. It will be Jared Jones on them out for the Pirates in this one. He is 2-4 with a 2.68 ERA and a .87 WHIP. Last time out, he gave up three runs, two earned, over six innings. Current members of the Cubs have 25 career at-bats against Jones. They have hit .280 against Jones with a home run and two doubles.
Why The Cubs Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Cubs are 12th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting 19th in batting average, tenth in on-base percentage, and 17th in slugging percentage. Christopher Morel has been leading the team in home runs and RBIs this year. He is hitting .219 on the year with a .306 on-base percentage. He has three doubles, a triple, and nine home runs this year. That has led to 27 RBIs on the season. Further, he has scored 22 times and stolen four bases. Meanwhile, Cody Bellinger is second on the team in RBIs while playing in just 29 games. He is hitting .254 on the year with 13 runs scored and 21 RBIs. It has been seven home runs and three doubles that have helped with that.
Michael Busch is also driving in runs. He is hitting .252 on the year with a .316 on-base percentage. He has seven doubles, a triple, and seven home runs this year. That has led to 20 RBIS and 21 runs scored. Nico Hoerner is leading the team in scoring runs this year. He has scored 25 times in the year while hitting .269 with a .361 on-base percentage.
The Cubs are 12th in team ERA while sitting 17th in WHIP and 15th in opponent batting average. Javier Assad will be on the mound for the Cubs. He is 3-0 this year with a 1.70 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Assad has allowed one or fewer earned runs in each of his last five starts. Current members of the Pirates have 41 career at-bats against Assad. They have hit .220 against him with a .304 on-base percentage. They have also scored five times.
Final Pirates-Cubs Prediction & Pick
The Pirate's offense has continued to struggle this year, especially at the plate. They will be facing a solid starting pitcher in this game. Javier Assad has been great in his last five starts, and with how the Pirates are hitting, this should be no different. While the Cubs have struggled to score, they will get the win in this one.
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Final Pirates-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Cubs ML (-132)
