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The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs meet Thursday in MLB action at Wrigley Field. The Pittsburgh Pirates look to snap a three-game losing streak. The Chicago Cubs need a win after losing five of their last eight games.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have scored five runs in their last three games and three or fewer runs in four of their last seven games. The Pirates are 0-7 this season when scoring three or fewer runs. Ke’Bryan Hayes leads the Pirates with 14 hits and 4 RBI, while Daniel Vogelbach and Michael Chavis have combined for 22 hits and 9 RBI. Bryse Wilson gets the ball, and he is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and 4 strikeouts this season. Wilson is 1-1 with a 7.30 ERA and 8 strikeouts in his career against the Cubs.
The Chicago Cubs have scored 11 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in six of their last seven games. The Cubs are 5-4 this season when scoring four or more runs. Ian Happ leads the Cubs with 12 hits and 6 RBI, while Frank Schwindel and Seiya Suzuki have combined for 24 hits and 18 RBI. Mark Leiter Jr. gets the ball, and he is 0-1 with an 18.90 ERA and 4 strikeouts this season. Leiter Jr. is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 8 strikeouts in his career against the Pirates.
The Pirates are 1-5 in their last 6 Thursday games and 43-91 in their last 134 games as an underdog. The Cubs are 4-0 in their last 4 during game 1 of a series and 4-1 in their last 5 Thursday games. The under is 2-0-2 in Pirates last 4 overall. The over is 10-2-1 in Cubs last 13 home games. The Pirates are 14-37 in the last 51 meetings in Chicago and 2-10 in the last 12 meetings.
I’m not backing either of these teams with these starting pitchers on the mound. Bryse Wilson has pitched in 33 games and has a 5.54 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. Mark Leiter Jr. has pitched in 48 career games and has a 5.91 ERA and 1.51 WHIP. Leiter has allowed five hits and seven runs in his first 3.1 innings this season. I’m leaning toward the over in this spot.