The Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet Thursday in MLB action from PNC Park. This will be the final installment in a four-game series. The Pirates took big wins in the first pair of this set, then on Wednesday Chicago got on the board with a dominant victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Chicago couldn’t get anything going in the opener and fell 12-1. The Cubs followed that up with a 7-1 loss Tuesday. In game three, Chicago posted a whopping seven runs in the second inning on the way to a 14-5 win. Keegan Thompson put up 6.0 innings with one earned, four hits and one walk.
For the starter job in the Thursday matchup, the Cubs will send out Justin Steele. In 13 starts this year Steele is 2-5 with a 4.27 ERA. Over 59.0 innings Steele has 28 earned on 58 hits and 29 walks with 53 Ks.
Over on the Pirates’ side, they scored five runs in the first three innings on the way to the Tuesday win. On Wednesday, Pittsburgh gave up 13 hits in the loss. Starter Jared Eickhoff lasted 4.1 innings with 10 earned on 10 hits and four walks.
Jose Quintana will take the mound for the Pirates on Thursday. In his 13 starts during 2022 Quintana is 1-4 with a 3.66 ERA. In 64.0 innings Quintana has 26 earned, 63 hits, 22 walks and 55 Ks.
The Cubs are 19-39 in their last 58 overall and 7-16 in their last 23 road games versus a lefty starter. Chicago is 4-10 in their last 14 in game four of a series.
Meanwhile, the Pirates are 5-1 in the last six in game four of a series and 30-68 in their last 98 versus the NL Central. Pittsburgh is 3-12 in their last 15 Thursday games.
PICK: I’m going to try the Cubs here. Steele is on a nice run right now. He’s posted a total of four earned runs on 18 hits and six walks over his last three starts in a span of 19.0 innings. As for Quintana, he’s on something of a spotty run with 11 earned in 13.2 innings over his last three starts. Both teams will have some scoring opportunities in the finale, so we should have a pretty fun game to watch.
