Pirates vs Cubs Prediction - MLB Picks 9/19/23

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The Pittsburgh Pirates will play the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of their series on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs come into this game on a losing streak, while the Pirates have played decently well over the last two weeks. 

Pirates Preview

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 70-80 this season and they have won four of their last six games. Pittsburgh is coming off of a series loss to the Yankees, where they lost two out of three games at home. The Pirates have scored three runs or fewer in three of their last four games. The Pittsburgh pitching staff has a 4.49 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP, and a .250 opponent batting average this season. The Pirates offense has scored 628 runs with a .237 batting average and a .312 on base percentage. Jack Suwinski is batting .214 with 25 home runs and 66 RBI’s for the Pirates. The projected starting pitcher for Pittsburgh is Bailey Falter, who is 2-1 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP over 37.1 innings pitched this year.

Cubs Preview

The Chicago Cubs are 78-72 this season and they have lost five games in a row. Chicago is coming off of a series loss to the Diamondbacks, where they lost all three games on the road. The Cubs are in the middle of the NL Wild Card race and are currently tied for the last spot with Cincinnati. The Chicago pitching staff has a 4.05 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a .244 opponent batting average. The Cubs offense has scored 749 runs with a .254 batting average and a .328 on base percentage this year. Cody Bellinger is batting .311 with 25 home runs and 91 RBI’s for the Cubs. The projected starting pitcher for Chicago is Javier Assad, who is 3-3 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP over 95.2 innings pitched this season.

Chicago Cubs Team Facts

  • The Cubs have won each of their last seven games against the Pirates at Wrigley Field following a road loss.
  • The Cubs have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games.
  • The 'Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Cubs' last four night games at Wrigley Field.

Pittsburgh Pirates Team Facts

  • The Pirates have lost 11 of their last 12 games at Wrigley Field against teams that held a winning record.
  • The Pirates have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight night games against National League opponents following a home win.
  • The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Pirates' last six road games.

Matchup/League Facts

  • The Chicago Cubs rank 7th in the league for runs scored this season (749).
  • The Chicago Cubs rank 7th in the league for RBI's this season (718).
  • The Pittsburgh Pirates rank 27th in the league for home runs this season (146).
  • The Pittsburgh Pirates rank 27th in the league for batting average this season (.237).

Pick

The Cubs come into this game really struggling over the last two weeks, but they are 41-34 at home this year. Pittsburgh is 32-40 on the road this season, but they have been very competitive recently. The Pirates are starting Bailey Falter, who has allowed two earned runs in his last 13.1 innings pitched. The Cubs are starting Javier Assad, who has allowed seven earned runs in his last 16.2 innings of work. The Cubs are at home and I think they will get back on track in this game. 

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

Mitch's Take...

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