Data Skrive:
The Pittsburgh Pirates (65-73) seek to complete a series sweep as they take a 2-0 lead into the finale versus the Chicago Cubs (71-68) at 7:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday from Wrigley Field. The Cubs are favored (-194) by oddsmakers to prevent the sweep and pick up their first win of the series. Shota Imanaga takes the mound for Chicago while Domingo German is Pittsburgh’s starter for the contest.
Take a look at our preview for this matchup, and discover all of our MLB betting picks, too!
Money Line
Bet $20, Payout $30.31
Cubs to win vs Pirates -194
Cubs vs. Pirates Betting Lines
- Favorite: Cubs (-194)
- Underdog: Pirates (+162)
- Over/under: 7.5
Cubs vs. Pirates Betting Insights
- The Cubs have won in 35, or 53%, of the 66 contests they have been named as odds-on favorites in this year.
- Chicago has been a -194 moneyline favorite on seven occasions this season and won every time.
- Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Cubs have a 66% chance of pulling out a win.
- The Pirates have gone 35-49 in games they were listed as the moneyline underdog (winning 41.7% of those games).
- When it has played as a moneyline underdog with odds of +162 or longer, Pittsburgh has a 3-8 record (winning just 27.3% of its games).
- The implied moneyline probablility in this matchup gives the Pirates a 38.2% chance to win.
Cubs vs. Pirates Hitting Leaders
- Ian Happ leads Chicago in home runs with 23 and runs batted in with 79.
- Happ ranks 30th in the majors in homers, and 28th in RBI.
- Nico Hoerner is batting .257 with an OBP of .326 and a slugging percentage of .349 this season.
- Bryan Reynolds paces the Pirates with 22 home runs and 77 runs batted in, while putting up a team-best batting average of .282.
- Reynolds is 35th in homers and 33rd in RBI among all hitters in MLB.
- Oneil Cruz has 31 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs and 38 walks while hitting .269.
Cubs vs. Pirates Pitching Rankings
- The Cubs strike out 8.7 batters per nine innings as a pitching staff, 10th-best in MLB.
- Cubs pitchers have a combined ERA of 3.82 this year, eighth-best in baseball.
- Cubs pitchers have a 1.246 WHIP this season, 11th in the majors.
- The pitching staff for the Pirates has a collective 8.4 K/9, which ranks 20th in the majors.
- Pittsburgh has the 16th-ranked team ERA among all MLB pitching staffs (4.10).
- The Pirates average MLB’s 23rd-ranked WHIP (1.306).