Cubs vs. Pirates Prediction
The Pittsburgh Pirates handed the Chicago Cubs another loss on the road on Friday. Will they do it again today at 1:35PM ET?
901 Chicago Cubs vs. 902 Pittsburgh Pirates
Saturday, August 17, 2019
1:35PM ET – PNC Park
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Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers, the Cubs are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -150 to win, while the Pirates are listed with odds of +130 to win. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 10.5 runs. The public betting for the contest currently has 82 percent going on Chicago 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 drop another
The Chicago Cubs continued their woes on the road on Friday, losing 3-2 in the series opener. Chicago has lost six of its last seven. The Cubs are 64-58 on the season, 23-39 on the road and 61-56 with the under. Chicago has Jon Lester on the mound today. He is 9-8 on the season with a 4.43 ERA.
The Cubs had things in hand, but gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth to suffer another loss. Brandon Kintzler blew the save by walking three and giving up the winning run while recording just one out. Kyle Hendricks threw seven strong innings in the start, giving up just one run on three hits. Tony Kemp had a two-run triple for the lone Chicago runs.
Pirates take opener
Pittsburgh returned home from a long road trip and picked up a 3-2 win over the Cubs last night. The Pirates are 51-70 on the season, 25-32 at home and 70-47 with the over. Pittsburgh has Steven Brault on the mound today. He is 3-1 on the season with a 4.33 ERA.
Cole Tucker had a bases-load walk to tie the game in the ninth and then Kevin Newman drove in the winning run with a single. Joe Musgrove got the start for the Pirates on Friday. He threw 7.1 innings and allowed two runs on four hits with nine strikeouts. Keone Kela got the win by pitching the ninth inning. He is 2-0 on the year.
MLB Betting Trends
Chicago
The Cubs are 4-12 in their last 16 games against a left-handed starter and 10-26 in their last 36 road games.
Pittsburgh
The Pirates are just 7-25 in their last 32 games overall and 2-8 in their last 10 games against a left-handed starter.
Prediction:
The Cubs are hoping that Lester can end their road woes. He has struggled as of late, allowing 19 runs over his last 14 innings on the mound. Lester has an ERA of nearly 5.00 on the road this year. Brault hasn’t been great, but not nearly as bad recently. He has given up eight runs over his last 18.2 innings of work. He did struggle in his lone showing against the Cubs this year, but I am going to continue to ride the trend of Chicago’s awful play on the road. I can’t trust them as a road favorite when they find so many ways to lose away from Wrigley Field.
MLB Prediction: Pittsburgh Pirates +130