Cubs vs. Pirates Betting Odds, Pitching Matchup – August 27, 2024

Yasmani Grandal leads the Pittsburgh Pirates (62-68) into Tuesday’s matchup with the Chicago Cubs (65-66) on a two-game homer streak. His Pirates are underdogs for the contest, however, with sportsbooks naming the Cubs as -136 moneyline favorites. The game starts at 6:40 p.m. ET from PNC Park, live on SportsNet PT. Justin Steele takes the mound for Chicago while Mitch Keller is Pittsburgh’s starter for the contest.

Here is our preview for this contest, and uncover all of our expert MLB picks, too!

Cubs vs. Pirates Betting Lines

• Favorite: Cubs (-136)
• Underdog: Pirates (+116)
• Over/under: 8

Cubs vs. Pirates Betting Insights

• The Cubs have come away with 31 wins in the 61 contests they have been listed as the favorites in this season.
• This season Chicago has come away with a win 21 times in 30 chances when named as a favorite of at least -136 on the moneyline.
• Sportsbooks have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Cubs have a 57.6% chance of pulling out a win.
• The Pirates have won 41.8% of the games this season they were the underdog on the moneyline (33-46).
• Pittsburgh has a record of 19-29 in games it has played as a moneyline underdog with odds of +116 or longer (39.6%).
• The Pirates have an implied moneyline win probability of 46.3% in this game.

Cubs vs. Pirates Hitting Leaders

• Ian Happ leads Chicago in home runs (23) and runs batted in (72) this season while batting .234.
• Happ ranks 23rd in Major League Baseball in home runs, and 30th in RBI.
• Isaac Paredes is batting .227 with an OBP of .334 and a slugging percentage of .404 this season.
• Bryan Reynolds paces the Pirates in home runs (19), runs batted in (71) and has a team-best batting average of .279.
• Among all hitters in the big leagues, Reynolds’ home run total puts him 50th, and his RBI total ranks 34th.
• Oneil Cruz has 29 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs and 37 walks while batting .265.

Cubs vs. Pirates Pitching Rankings

• The Cubs average the 11th-most strikeouts per nine innings (8.7) in the league this season.
• The Cubs have the fifth-best ERA (3.73) in the majors this season.
• The Cubs have a combined WHIP of just 1.233 as a pitching staff, which is the 10th-best in baseball this season.
• The pitching staff for the Pirates has a collective 8.4 K/9, which ranks 20th in the majors.
• Pittsburgh has a 3.93 team ERA that ranks 13th across all MLB pitching staffs.
• The Pirates have the 19th-ranked WHIP in the majors (1.280).