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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs – 9/24/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction


2020-09-24 13:35:00 EDT

The Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet Thursday in MLB action from PNC Park. 

This will be the final installment of the four-game series between the Cubs and Pirates this week. Chicago won Monday 5-0, and Pittsburgh got game two 3-2 on Tuesday. In Wednesday’s matchup, the Pirates gained the edge in the series with a tense 2-1 victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

The Cubs were out-hit 7-5 in the Wednesday loss, and neither team scored after the first inning. Anthony Rizzo provided the only Chicago run with a solo shot, his 11th of the season. Starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks took a tough-luck loss with 7.2 innings, two earned, one walk and three Ks. 

For the Thursday starting pitcher role, the Cubs will send out Alec Mills. In his 10 starts this year, Mills is 5-4 with a 4.14 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 58.2 innings. Over his career, Mills is 6-5 with a 3.96 ERA and 113 Ks in 116.0 innings. 

Over on the Pirates’ side, starting pitcher Trevor Williams got his second win of the year on Wednesday with 5.2 innings, three hits, one earned, three walks and four strikeouts. Adam Frazier and Ke’Bryan Hayes each homered and had two hits. 

In the Thursday starting pitcher role, the Pirates will go with Chat Kuhl. In 10 games (eight starts) during 2020, Kuhl is 1-3 with a 5.03 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. In his MLB career, Kuhl is 19-23 with a 4.44 ERA and 315 Ks in 352.1 innings of work. 

The Cubs are 4-1 in their last five games versus a starter with a WHIP greater than 1.30 and 60-27 in their last 87 Thursday games. Chicago is 1-5 in their last six during game four of a series and the over is 4-1 in their last five during game four of a series. 

Meanwhile, the Pirates are 4-0 in their last four Thursday games and 25-53 in their last 78 versus the National League Central. The under is 4-0-1 in Pittsburgh’s last five Thursday games and they’re 14-45 in the last 59 versus a team with a winning record. 

Pick: I’m going Cubs here. That said, Kuhl has improved lately after getting better control on his fastball. Kuhl managed six strikeouts with two walks and five singles over five innings in his last outing. As for Mills, his 2.77 September ERA contains a no-hitter on the 13th, and he was shaky his last time out. Mills gave up four runs on six hits in seven innings in a loss to the Twins there, but I think he should be able to handle Pittsburgh just fine. 

Andrew's Free Pick: Chicago Cubs -182

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Andrew

Andrew has been writing about college, professional and fantasy sports betting since 2013. Andrew's goal is to break down the complicated numbers and trends into a language that's easily accessible to novice sports bettors and seasoned professionals alike.

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