Cubs vs. Pirates odds, tips and betting trends

Sportsbook Wire

26 August 2023

Cubs vs. Pirates odds, tips and betting trends

At PNC Park on Saturday, the Chicago Cubs (67-61) meet the Pittsburgh Pirates (58-71), with first pitch at 7:15 PM ET.

The Cubs are favored (-143 on the moneyline) when they take the field at the Pirates (+121). The Chicago Cubs will give the start to Javier Assad (2-2, 3.12 ERA), who is looking for win No. 3 on the season, and the Pirates will turn to Colin Selby (1-0, 7.27 ERA).

Yesterday, the Pirates picked up a 2-1 victory over the Cubs, with Mitch Keller (8.0 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 6 K) registering the win for the Pirates. Ke’Bryan Hayes went 2-for-3 to lead the offensive attack. Kyle Hendricks (5.2 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 4 K) took the loss for the Cubs.

Before watching this Cubs vs. Pirates matchup, here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s action on the diamond, including viewing options.

Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Odds and Betting Lines

Tipico Sportsbook. Odds updated Saturday at 9:19 AM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Favorite: Cubs (-143, bet $143 to win $100)
Underdog: Pirates (+121, bet $100 to win $121)
Over/under: 10

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Cubs Stats and Trends

Cubs Betting Records

The Cubs have been favorites in 66 games this season and won 39 (59.1%) of those contests.
This season Chicago has won 16 of its 26 games, or 61.5%, when favored by at least -143 on the moneyline.
The implied probability of a win from the Cubs, based on the moneyline, is 58.8%.
So far this season, Chicago and its opponents have hit the over in 67 of 128 games with a total.
In 128 games with a spread this season, the Cubs are 63-65-0 ATS.

Javier Assad (Cubs Probable Starter)

Assad (2-2) takes the mound for the Cubs in his sixth start of the season. He’s put together a 3.12 ERA in 72 2/3 innings pitched, with 53 strikeouts.
In his most recent outing on Monday against the Detroit Tigers, the righty threw 5 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs while surrendering five hits.
The 26-year-old has an ERA of 3.12, with 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings, in 23 games this season. Opponents are hitting .228 against him.
Assad is looking to pick up his third quality start of the year.
Assad will try to continue a four-game streak of pitching five or more innings (he’s averaging 3.1 innings per appearance).
In 10 of his 23 total appearances this season he has not surrendered an earned run.
He will match up with a Pirates team that is hitting .235 as a unit (27th in MLB). It is also slugging a collective .387 (26th in MLB) with 126 total home runs (26th in MLB).

Cubs Batting Stats

The Cubs have hit 155 homers this season, which ranks 14th in the league.
The offense for Chicago has a slugging percentage of .417 this season, 13th in MLB.
The Cubs’ .254 batting average ranks 11th in the league this season.
Chicago has scored the fifth-most runs in the majors this season with 642.
The Cubs have an on-base percentage of .329 this season, which ranks seventh in the league.
Chicago ranks 19th in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 8.9 whiffs per contest.

Pirates Stats and Trends

Pirates Betting Records

The Pirates have been underdogs in 103 games this season and have come away with the win 43 times (41.7%) in those contests.
Pittsburgh has a mark of 32-32 in contests where bookmakers favor it by +121 or worse on the moneyline.
The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Pirates have a 45.2% chance of walking away with the win.
Contests with Pittsburgh has gone over the total set by sportsbooks in 69 of 129 chances this season.
In 129 games with a line this season, the Pirates have a mark of 64-65-0 against the spread.

Colin Selby (Pirates Probable Starter)

Selby starts for the first time this season for the Pirates.
The right-hander is making his MLB debut at 25 years old.
In seven appearances this season, he has a 7.27 ERA and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings while opponents are hitting .314 against him.
The Cubs have MLB’s fifth-ranked scoring offense (642 total runs) and have racked up a .254 batting average as a team while hitting 155 home runs (14th in the league) this season.

Pirates Batting Stats

The Pirates are fifth-worst in MLB action with 126 home runs.
So far this year, Pittsburgh is slugging .387, the fifth-lowest percentage in baseball.
The Pirates have the fourth-worst batting average in the league (.235).
The offense for Pittsburgh is the No. 24 offense in baseball, scoring 4.2 runs per game (540 total runs).
The Pirates’ .314 on-base percentage ranks 21st in MLB.

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