Pittsburgh Pirates (48-87) vs. Chicago Cubs (61-75)
September 4, 2021 2:20 pm EDT
The Line: Chicago Cubs -141 / Pittsburgh Pirates +125; Over/Under: 9
(Get latest betting odds)
The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs meet in an NL Central division matchup in MLB action from Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will try to rebound from a 6-5 loss at the hands of the Cubs on Friday. Anthony Alford led the way with a pair of home runs and three RBIs while Hoy Park had a solo home run as well. Steven Brault chipped in a double while Cole Tucker, Colin Moran and Kevin Newman all had base hits as well to cap off the offense for the Pirates in the win. Brault allowed five runs on seven hits while striking out four over four innings of work, not factoring in the decision. Shelby Miller took the loss in relief to fall to 0-1 on the year as a result. The Pirates didn’t have a starting pitcher announced at the time that this article was published.
The Chicago Cubs will try to build off of their win over the Pirates from Friday. Michael Hermosillo led the way with three RBIs, falling a triple short of the cycle with a solo homer and a double. Frank Schwindel had a home run and two RBIs while Austin Romine added an RBI as well to finish off the offense for the Cubbies in the win. Ian Happ had three hits with a double while Sergio Alcantara added a base hit as well to finish off Chicago’s offense as a team in the win. Alec Mills allowed five runs, two earned, on seven hits with six K’s over 5.2 innings of work, not factoring in the decision. Trevor Megill got the win to improve to 1-0 on the year while Rowan Wick closed the 9th for his 2nd save. Kyle Hendricks will start here and is 14-6 with a 4.43 ERA and 117 strikeouts this season.
Pittsburgh is 25-53 in their last 78 games overall and 17-44 in their last 61 games following a loss while the over is 5-1 in their last 6 games against a right-handed starter. Chicago is 19-42 in their last 61 games overall and 3-14 in their last 17 game three matchups while the over is 4-1-1 in their last 6 games following a win.
It’s a bit hard really going in-depth into the game without knowing who is getting the start for the Pirates, but with how Pittsburgh has played as of late, it hasn’t mattered. The Cubs have not been good at all, but they get their ace on the bump in Kyle Hendricks who is responsible for a quarter of the Cubs’ wins this season. Numbers don’t lie folks. I’m not loving this game but it’s Cubs or pass for me here.
