Upcoming Match-ups

Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates: Preview & Prediction

Sascha Paruk

by Sascha Paruk in MLB Baseball

Updated Apr 10, 2018 · 11:37 AM PDT

Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo on the base paths
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo look to lead the Cubs again in 2019. Photo by Ron Cogswell (flickr).

The Northside faithful had to wait one extra day for their team’s 2018 home opener — which was already the latest in the MLB — thanks to a snow-out in yesterday’s Cubs vs Pirates game, which is now scheduled for 2:20 PM ET today (April 10) at Wrigley Field. The pitching matchup remains the same: Joe Maddon sends newcomer Tyler Chatwood to the mound against Pittsburgh’s Ivan Nova.

Is it going to be a case of delayed gratification for Cubs fans or will the surging Pirates ruin the homecoming? The opening odds, key stats, betting trends, weather forecast, and score prediction are below.

Opening Odds

MONEYLINE RUNLINE O/U RUNS
PIRATES (+132) PIRATES +1.5 — OFF UNDER — OFF
CUBS (-142) CUBS -1.5 — OFF OVER — OFF

When the Cubs signed Chatwood this offseason, they were hoping that his uninspiring 4.28 career ERA was a product of five years at altitude with the Rockies. Early returns are mixed. Chatwood went six innings in his first start and gave up just four hits and one run in a 1-0 loss to the Reds. But he also walked six batters after finishing last year with the fourth-most walks in the MLB (77).

Nova, meanwhile, got the better of Detroit in his first outing — six hits, three walks, two runs over 5.0 innings — but he was touched up for five runs in just 5.1 innings by the Twins next time out en route to a 7-3 loss.

Team Stats

CUBS
VS
PIRATES
5-4 (0-0 Home) RECORD 7-2 (3-0 Away)
 Tyler Chatwood: 0-1, 1.50 ERA  PROBABLE STARTER Ivan Nova: 0-1, 6.10 ERA
 .216 BA, .634 OPS (in 97 at-bats) LINEUP VS OPPONENT STARTER .233 BA, .538 OPS (in 43 at-bats)
0.94 (1st in MLB) BULLPEN ERA 5.67 (27th in MLB)
.699 (17th in MLB) TEAM OPS .814 (2nd in MLB)
 10-9 (4-5 Home)  2017 HEAD-TO-HEAD 9-10 (5-4 Away)

Betting Results & Trends

CUBS  TREND PIRATES
Won 2 WIN/LOSS STREAK Won 1
3-2 LAST 5 3-2
5-4 RUNLINE RECORD 6-3
3-6 OVER/UNDER SPLIT 6-3
 Under 2 OVER/UNDER STREAK Under 1

 

The Cubs come into their home opener on the heels of a 3-0 win over Milwaukee, their second shutout in as many games.

YouTube video

 

The Pirates also head to Wrigley after an impressive shutout win, blanking the Reds 5-0 on Sunday.

YouTube video

Weather Forecast at Opening Pitch

TEMPERATURE 44°
HUMIDITY 43%
WIND SPEED  SW 7 MPH  (out to left field)
P.O.P. 0%

 

Score Prediction

PIRATES 3
CUBS 4

Even though neither pitcher inspires much confidence, don’t expect a high-scoring game. As we’ve seen with the Indians and White Sox recently, the cold weather is keeping scores relatively low, and Chatwood and Nova actually have decent numbers against the opposing lineup.

The Pirates’ lineup is also overachieving. Not one of their players was projected to finish with an OPS over .824 at the start of the year, per FanGraphs. At the moment, the entire team has an .814 OPS. They will come back to Earth, and soon.

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