Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction 5-18-24 Picks

In this article we will formulate a Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates prediction for this MLB game on Saturday, May 18th at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game three in the series. 

Cubs Trying to Find Consistency 

The Chicago Cubs are 25-21 this season and they have lost four of their last five games. Chicago has lost the first two games in this series and they have allowed 14 runs in the two losses. Prior to this series, the Cubs lost two out of three against Atlanta, won two out of three against Pittsburgh, and lost two out of three against San Diego. Chicago has won two games in a row just once in their last 20 games, and they are second in the NL Central behind Milwaukee.

The Chicago pitching staff has a 3.81 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and a .242 opponent batting average. The Cubs offense has scored 209 runs with a .234 batting average and a .316 on base percentage. Michael Busch is batting .250 with seven home runs and 20 RBI’s for the Cubs this season. Chicago is 12th in team ERA this season and they have allowed at least five runs in four of their last seven games. 

Pirates Look for the Series Win 

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 21-25 this year and they have won three of their last five games. Pittsburgh has won the first two games in this series by scores of 5-4 and 9-3. Prior to this series, the Pirates lost two out of three against Milwaukee, lost two out of three against the Cubs, and lost two out of three against the Angels. Pittsburgh is just 4-6 in their last 10 games and they are third in the NL Central behind the Cubs and Brewers. 

The Pittsburgh pitching staff has a 4.00 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a .239 opponent batting average. The Pirates offense has scored 177 runs with a .226 batting average and a .302 on base percentage. Bryan Reynolds is batting .254 with five home runs and 20 RBI’s for the Pirates this season. Pittsburgh is 21st in the MLB in runs scored so far this year, but they have scored at least five runs in four of their last seven games. 

Starting Pitchers

The projected starting pitcher for Chicago is Shota Imanaga, who is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP over 46.2 innings pitched this year. Imanaga has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five straight outings and has only allowed two earned runs over his last 19.0 innings of work. The projected starting pitcher for Pittsburgh is Bailey Falter, who is 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over 43.1 innings pitched this season. Falter has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his last five starts and has allowed five earned runs over his last 11.1 innings pitched. 

Why the Chicago Cubs will win

The Pirates have lost each of their last eight Saturday games at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs have won seven of their last eight games following a home loss.
The Pirates have failed to cover the run line in four of their last five games as road underdogs against the Cubs following a win.
The Cubs have covered the run line in six of their last eight games as favorites against the Pirates following a loss.

Chicago Cubs Player Prop Facts

Patrick Wisdom has hit a home run in three of his last four appearances with the Cubs as favorites against NL Central opponents.
Cody Bellinger has recorded an RBI in each of his last seven appearances with the Cubs as favorites against NL opponents.
Seiya Suzuki has scored at least one run in each of his last eight appearances with the Cubs as favorites.
Ian Happ has recorded at least one total base in each of the Cubs’ last 14 games as home favorites against the Pirates.
Ian Happ has recorded at least one hit in each of the Cubs’ last 14 games as home favorites against the Pirates.
Cody Bellinger has recorded at least one Double in four of the Cubs’ last five games as home favorites against the Pirates.
Shota Imanaga has recorded a win in five of his six previous appearances with the Cubs as favorites.
Seiya Suzuki has recorded at least one Single in each of his last seven home appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
Shota Imanaga ranks 1st amongst qualified players for Earned Run Average (0.96) this season.

Pittsburgh Pirates Player Prop Facts

Oneil Cruz has hit a home run in three of his last four appearances with the Pirates as underdogs against the Cubs.
Oneil Cruz has recorded at least one RBI in six of his last seven appearances with the Pirates as underdogs against the Cubs.
Connor Joe has recorded at least one hit in each of his six previous road appearances against the Cubs after playing the previous day.
Connor Joe has recorded at least one Single in each of the Pirates’ last four games at Wrigley Field against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
Ji-Hwan Bae has scored a run in each of his last four appearances in day games against NL Central teams that held a winning record.
Ke’Bryan Hayes has recorded two or more total bases in each of his last five appearances in day games against teams that held a winning record.

Matchup/League Facts

The Chicago Cubs rank T3rd in the league for triples this season (10).
The Chicago Cubs rank 4th in the league for walks this season (169).
The Pittsburgh Pirates rank 27th in the league for strikeouts against this season (430).
The Pittsburgh Pirates rank 27th in the league for home runs allowed this season (54).

Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction 

Chicago comes into this matchup with a 13-8 record at home, but they have lost the first two games in this series. Pittsburgh has plenty of momentum coming into this game, after Skenes had an electric outing on Friday in the win. These two teams are second and third in the NL Central, but the Cubs are a few games ahead of the Pirates. Chicago has a big pitching advantage in this game, as Imanaga has been electric to start the season. I think the Cubs will give Imanaga some run support in this game and my Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates prediction is for the Cubs to win by at least two runs.