Pittsburgh Pirates (34-37) vs Chicago Cubs (34-38)
2023-06-21 12:35:00 EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Pittsburgh Pirates -105 / Chicago Cubs -120 --- Over/Under: 8.5
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The Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet Wednesday in MLB action from PNC Park. This will be the finale in a three-game series. The Cubs took a blowout win in the opener, then on Tuesday Chicago kept it going with a shutout victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs scored three runs in both the second and eighth innings Monday, cruising to an 8-0 blowout victory. In the Tuesday matchup Chicago scored twice in the eighth inning during a 4-0 shutout win. Starter Marcus Stroman finished on 7.0 innings, five hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
For the starter job Wednesday it’ll be the Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks. Over his five starts this year Hendricks is 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA and 16 Ks in 28.1 innings. Hendricks is 89-63 with a 3.44 ERA in 228 career games (227 starts).
Pittsburgh Pirates
Over on the Pirates’ side, they were out-hit 10-5 in the Monday game and couldn’t find the scoreboard. On Tuesday Pittsburgh was out-hit 7-5 in the loss. Johan Oviedo went 6.0 innings in the starting role with five hits, two earned and three strikeouts.
Rich Hill will make the start for the Pirates on Wednesday. Across 14 starts this year Hill is 6-6 with a 4.31 ERA and 72 strikeouts over 77.1 innings. Hill is 88-65 with a 3.87 ERA in 364 career games (235 starts).
The Cubs are 8-19 in their last 27 road games and 2-9 in their last 11 in game three of a series. The over is 9-4 in Chicago’s last 13 in game three of a series.
Meanwhile, the Pirates are 49-100 in their last 149 in game three of a series and 25-55 in their last 80 Wednesday games. The over is 19-7 in in Pittsburgh’s last 27 Wednesday games.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll stick with the Cubs in this one. Hendricks has a couple of solid starts under his belt lately, posting two earned on six hits and a walk over 13.0 innings during his last pair. Hendricks is 2-0 during that time. On Tuesday in game two Chicago got 2.0 clean frames with no hits and no walks from Mark Leiter and Adbert Alzolay. Another nice pen performance in this finale and the Cubs will be in line for the sweep.
