Cubs vs. Pirates Prediction
Two teams treading near the .500 mark meet up again today at 4:05PM ET when the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Chicago Cubs. Which team has the edge today?
905 Chicago Cubs vs. 906 Pittsburgh Pirates
Thursday, July 4, 2019
4:05PM ET – PNC Park
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Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers, the Cubs are the slight favorite on the road, as they are getting odds of -115 to win, while the Pirates are listed with a money line of -105 to win. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 9.5 runs. The public betting for the contest currently has 63 percent going on the Cubs on the road. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game.
Cubs on a slide
The Cubs are riding a four-game losing streak after suffering a 6-5 loss at Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Chicago is 45-42 overall, 16-26 on the road and 44-41 with the over. The Cubs have Jose Quintana on the mound today. He is 5-7 on the season with a 4.21 ERA.
Chicago had a 5-4 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, only to see Craig Kimbrel give up two runs and give the Cubs a loss. It was the first loss for Kimbrel this season. Yu Darvish didn’t have a great start, but wasn’t terrible. He gave up four runs over 6.2 innings and was in place for the win. At the plate, Javier Baez hit his 22nd home run of the season and now has 58 RBI on the year. Victor Caratini had two hits and three RBI for the Cubs.
Pirates seek sweep
Pittsburgh is looking to complete a solid four-game sweep of the Cubs today after picking up wins in the first three games. They have outscored Chicago 29-11 in the series thus far. The Pirates are now 42-43 on the season, 20-19 at home and 49-33 with the over. Jordan Lyles gets the start for Pittsburgh today. He is 5-4 on the year with a 3.71 ERA.
Chris Archer only lasted five innings, giving up three runs, but Pittsburgh’s bullpen was able to do pretty well. Richard Rodriguez got his third win of the year by pitching a scoreless ninth. At the plate, Josh Bell continued his MVP-type season, hitting his 30th double and 26th home run while driving in his 79th and 80th run of the year. Melky Cabrera added three hits and two RBI in the win as well.
MLB Betting Trends
Chicago
The Cubs are 5-16 in their last 21 road games and 3-10 in their last 13 road games against a team with a winning home record.
Pittsburgh
The Pirates have won seven straight home games and 10 of their last 13 overall.
Prediction:
The Pirates have had Chicago’s number in this series and the Cubs can’t seem to get on track with their hitting and pitching right now. Quintana hasn’t been the most reliable pitcher either. He gave up nine runs in four innings to the Mets just over a week ago. Lyles hasn’t been lights out either, but he hasn’t been blown up in his bad starts. I think he will be competitive on the mound today and be able to lead the Pirates to a win thanks to some run support as well.
MLB Prediction: Pittsburgh Pirates -105