The Pittsburgh Pirates will travel to Chicago, Illinois, to face the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field for a four-game weekend series, with the first game of the series starting at 7:40 PM ET on Thursday evening and airing on MARQ and SNPT.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled over their previous ten games with a record of 4-6 and are coming off their 3rd consecutive series loss this season and their 2nd divisional series loss in a row following a 2-10 blowout loss in Game 3 of the series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Pirates played the Cubs last weekend and lost the series 1-2. They were outscored by the Cubs by an average of 1.67 runs per game in the series. Divisional opponents have outscored Pittsburgh by an average of 1.3 runs per game to start the 2024 MLB season 4-6 in divisional games.
The Pirates enter Game 1 of the series against the Cubs six games below. 500 in the series with a record of 19-25, which puts them in 3rd place in the NL Central and 7.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to end their two-game losing streak when they travel to face the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the series.
The Chicago Cubs avoided the three-game series sweep on the road against the Atlanta Braves following a 7-1 win in Game 3 of the series on Wednesday; however, Game 3 of the series was the only game in the series that the Cubs managed to score any runs as they were shutout in Game 1 by a score of 0-2 and in Game 2 by a score of 0-7.
The Cubs started off the game with three runs in the first inning, which included a one-run home run by Mike Taughman on the first pitch of the game. The win moves Chicago to six games above.500 with a record of 25-19 and puts them in 2nd place in the NL Central, trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 1.5 games, which also gives the Cubs the 5th best record in the National League.
Chicago has won six of the previous ten games in the series against Pittsburgh, winning by an average margin of 2.3 runs per game in those contests.
The Chicago Cubs are listed as -127 moneyline favorites at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 1 of the series on Thursday night, according to WagerWeb. Chicago has won six of the previous ten and two of the last three meetings against Pittsburgh, while winning by an average margin of 2.3 runs per game in the last ten and 1.67 runs per game in the previous three games in the series. Jared Jones's first start of his career against the Cubs resulted in a loss, while Justin Steele is 0-1 with two no-decisions in his previous three starts against the Pirates.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled in divisional games this season with a record of 4-6, while the Chicago Cubs are 4-2 in divisional games to start the 2024 MLB season. The Cubs have also been the better team in the series, winning six of the last ten by an average margin of 2.3 runs per game and two of the previous three by an average margin of 1.67 runs per game, which is why I am taking the moneyline for the Chicago Cubs when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates for Game 1 of the series on Thursday night.
