Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs Prediction & Betting Tips 8/28/2024

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs Preview

Wednesday’s matchup between the Cubs and Pirates is set to get started at 12:35 PM ET from PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The money line odds have the Pirates at -166, while the Cubs are the slight underdog at +141. The over/under line is currently at 8 runs.

Chicago comes in with a record of 67-66 and is starting Kyle Hendricks, while the Pirates are 62-70 and will have Paul Skenes on the mound. Pittsburgh is currently on a two-game losing streak and is 5th in the NL Central, while the Cubs are 2nd in the division. SN PT will be televising this game.

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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs Trends and Key Stats

• Across their last five road games, the Cubs are 4-1. This includes going 4-1 vs. the runline.
• On the other side, the Pirates have gone 1-4 (SU) and 3-2 in their previous five home contests.
• Over their last ten games as the favorite, the Pirates have a straight-up record of 7-3, while going 5-5 against the runline.
• Over their previous ten games as the underdog, the Cubs have a straight-up record of 6-4 and a 8-2 record vs. the runline.

Chicago cruised to a 9-5 win over the Pirates in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a huge 4th inning, scoring five of their nine runs. As for the Pirates, they scored their final two runs in the 9th. Heading into the game, the Cubs were favored at -123 on the money line.

Pittsburgh wasted a good outing from Jared Jones, as he gave up just two earned runs in four innings of work for the Pirates. Justin Steele struggled on the mound for the Cubs but still picked up the win, going five innings and giving up two earned runs.

At the plate, the Cubs were led by Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson, as they were the only two Cubs hitters to have more than one hit. Suzuki, Miguel Amaya, and Bryan De La Cruz each had two RBIs for Chicago’s offense.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs Prediction

Chicago is on the road today vs. the Pirates, and they are 67-66 overall, putting them nine games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. The Cubs have gone 19-26 against other teams in the NL Central this year. The Cubs have won two straight games, and they are 7-3 across their last 10.

At home, the Cubs are 36-29 compared to 31-37 on the road. As the underdog, the Cubs are 20-27 this year and 34-32 when favored. Chicago’s overall series record is 17-21-3 this year, and they have won three straight series.

When the Cubs are on the road, they have a run line record of 40-28, which includes a current streak of two wins. Their average run differential is 0.2 runs per game, and they have a run line record of 45-22 as the underdog. Their average run differential in wins is 3.6 runs per game, while their average run differential in losses is -3.2 runs per game.

Chicago Cubs games have averaged 8.6 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 60-68. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, the Cubs are 7-16-1. Overall, 67 of their games have had over/under lines set at more than 8 runs, which is 50.4% of their games. The over has hit in their last two games.

Kyle Hendricks gets the start for the Cubs today as he faces the Pirates on the road. This year, he has made 18 starts and has a record of 3-10 with a 6.33 ERA. Hendricks has a WHIP of 1.45 and has pitched much better at home, coming in with a 5.78 ERA compared to 7.53 on the road. In his last outing, Hendricks finished with a no-decision, giving up three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. He has not won a game since July 31st.

Seiya Suzuki has been swinging a hot bat for the Cubs, going 15/37 in his last nine games with three homers and seven RBIs. Overall, Suzuki is batting .276 with 19 homers, which is the 2nd most on the team. Ian Happ and Isaac Paredes are also tied for 2nd on the team with 19 homers, with Happ leading the Cubs with 72 RBIs. However, Happ is batting just .237 for the season.

Chicago comes into the game averaging 4.4 runs per game and have been a better offensive team on the road this season, averaging 4.7 runs per contest. As a team, they are batting just .238 and are 15th in home runs. Currently, the Cubs have three players on a hitting streak, with Nico Hoerner’s four-game streak being the longest on the team.

Pittsburgh is 62-70 overall, putting them 5th in the NL Central, 13.5 games behind the Brewers. The Pirates have gone 20-18 against other teams in the NL Central. They are looking to snap a two-game losing streak today, and this losing streak comes after dropping the final game of their series vs. the Cardinals.

At home, the Pirates are 32-35 this season, and they are 30-35 on the road. As the favorite, the Pirates are 27-23 this year and 35-47 as the underdog. Pittsburgh has dropped two straight games as the favorite. So far, they are 17-17 as the home favorite. Their overall series record is 18-18-5, and they are 4-6 across their last 10 games.

The Pirates are 74-58 against the run line this season, including a 34-33 mark at home. They have a run differential of -0.3 runs per game overall, and they have been outscored by 0.5 runs per game at home. Pittsburgh is 55-27 against the run line as the underdog, but just 19-31 when favored.

Today’s over/under line is set at 8 runs for the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates have played to the over in 64 of their 130 games this season, and their games have averaged 8.7 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, the Pirates have gone over 13 times and under 15 times. The over has hit in two straight games for Pittsburgh.

Right-hander Paul Skenes gets the start for the Pirates today as he faces the Cubs at home. Skenes has made 17 starts this year and has a record of 8-2 with a 2.16 ERA. Coming into the game, he has a WHIP of .94 and has turned in 13 quality starts. In his last outing, Skenes didn’t give up a run, picking up the win after going six innings of work. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight outings. Skenes has been much better at home, coming in with a record of 5-1 and an ERA of 2.75 compared to 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA on the road.

Oneil Cruz has been hot at the plate for the Pirates of late, going 9/19 in his last five games, but he has not gone deep during that stretch. Bryan Reynolds and Bryan De La Cruz have both struggled a bit in their last five games, with Reynolds batting just .211 and De La Cruz hitting .222. However, both players have gone deep during that stretch. Reynolds is the Pirates’ leader in home runs this season, while De La Cruz is 2nd in RBIs.

Yasmani Grandal is on a four-game hitting streak for the Pirates and has gone deep in two straight games. For the season, the Pirates are batting just .235, which is 18th in the league, and they are averaging only 4.2 runs per game, which is also 18th in the MLB.

Our predicted score for this Pirates vs. Cubs matchup is 6-5 in favor of the Pirates. However, with the Pirates being -166 on the money line, we are recommending that you take the over, as we have the teams combining for 11 runs and the line is currently sitting at 8.

Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Kyle Hendricks going 11th in terms of innings pitched, and he is projected to finish with four strikeouts. As for the Pirates starter, Paul Skenes, we have him going six innings and finishing with six K’s.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs Betting Tips

• Take the Pirates on the moneyline
• On the run line we like the Cubs (+1.5)
• Projecting a combined 11 runs, we like the over

Pittsburgh Pirates Injury Report

Chicago Cubs Injury Report