2020-09-22 19:05:00 EDT
The Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet Tuesday in MLB action from PNC Park.
This will be the second installment of a four-game series between the Cubs and Pirates this week. In the set opener on Monday, Chicago posted three runs in the eighth inning on the way to a 5-0 shutout victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
The Cubs collected eight hits to Pittsburgh’s four in the Monday win. Leading the way for the Chicago offense was Kyle Schwarber, with a double, two hits, two RBI and a run. Starting pitcher Jon Lester went 6.0 innings with four hits, no earned, one walk and one strikeout in the victory.
For the Tuesday starting pitcher role, the Cubs will send out Jose Quintana. In two games (zero starts) without a decision so far this season, Quintana has a 6.00 ERA and nine strikeouts over 6.0 innings. In his MLB career, Quintana is 83-77 with a 3.73 ERA and 1307 Ks in 1491.0 innings of work.
Over on the Pirates’ side, Monday starting pitcher JT Brubaker had 6.2 innings with two earned runs, four hits, one walk and nine strikeouts in his third loss of the season. Ke’Bryan Hayes had two of Pittsburgh’s four hits with one strikeout.
In the Tuesday starter slot, Pittsburgh is going with Steven Brault. Over 10 games (nine starts) this year, Brault is 1-3 with a 4.04 ERA and 32 Ks in 35.2 innings. Across his MLB career, Brault is 12-15 with a 4.78 ERA and 266 Ks in 308.2 innings.
The Cubs are 7-1 in their last eight Tuesday games and 5-1 in their last six games as a road favorite. Chicago is 4-1 in their last five games versus the National League Central and 6-2 in their last eight games overall.
Meanwhile, the Pirates are 24-53 in their last 77 versus the National League Central and 17-39 in their last 56 versus a left-handed starter. Pittsburgh is 14-40 in the last 55 games as an underdog and 7-19 in their last 26 during game two of a series.
Pick: Gotta go with the Cubs here. That said, Brault should do pretty well on the other side. In his last start, Brault posted a complete game with just two hits allowed versus the Cardinals at PNC Park. It was the best outing of his career, and brought Brault down to a 3.03 ERA in nine starts this year. Quintana will be limited in his pitch count here (probably around 50) but should be able to handle the Pittsburgh hitters.
