The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates meet Sunday in MLB action at PNC Park. The Chicago Cubs look for a win after splitting their last 8 games. The Pittsburgh Pirates need a win after losing 8 of their last 9 games.
The Chicago Cubs have scored 9 runs in their last 3 games and 3 or fewer runs in 7 of their last 9 games. The Cubs have lost 4 of their last 6 games when scoring 3 or fewer runs. Ian Happ leads the Cubs with 145 hits and 69 RBI, while Nico Hoerner and Seiya Suzuki have combined for 127 hits and 94 RBI. Adrian Sampson gets the ball, and he is 2-5 with a 3.35 ERA and 61 strikeouts this season. Sampson is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 14 strikeouts in his career against the Pirates.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have scored 13 runs in their last 3 games and 3 or fewer runs in 7 of their last 11 games. The Pirates have lost 6 straight games when scoring 3 or fewer runs. Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with 135 hits and 59 RBI, while Ke'Bryan Hayes and Michael Chavis have combined for 207 hits and 89 RBI. Luis Ortiz gets the ball, and he is 0-0 with a 0.84 ERA and 10 strikeouts this season. This will be Ortiz’s first career game against the Cubs.
The Cubs are 11-27 in their last 38 Sunday games and 2-5 in their last 7 during game 4 of a series. The Pirates are 7-21 in their last 28 home games and 1-5 in their last 6 during game 4 of a series. The under is 12-4 in Cubs last 16 overall. The over is 4-1 in Pirates last 5 overall. The under is 11-5-1 in the last 17 meetings.
The Pittsburgh Pirates being favored is a joke considering they've lost 8 of their last 9 games, and it's even worse with Luis Ortiz on the mound, a pitcher who has just 10.2 innings under his belt. The Chicago Cubs are playing the better baseball, no matter how you slice it, and Adrian Sampson has been decent this season with his 3.35 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Give me the Chicago Cubs and the reasonable price.
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Mitch's Take...
