Two squads in the NL Central — the Pittsburgh Pirates (19-25) and the Chicago Cubs (25-19) — clash on Thursday at 7:40 PM ET, at Wrigley Field.
The Pirates are an underdog away (+107) versus the Cubs (-127). The scheduled starters are Justin Steele for the Chicago Cubs, and Jared Jones (2-4) for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Cubs won 7-1 over the Braves yesterday in their most recent Game. Seiya Suzuki finished 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and an RBI to lead them offensively while Javier Assad was earned the victory after throwing six innings without giving up an earned run on four hits, while striking out seven.
The Pirates fell to the Brewers 10-2 yesterday. Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI, and Martin Perez took the loss, pitching five innings, giving up nine earned runs on 11 hits while striking out four.
Here is everything you need to prepare for Thursday’s Cubs vs. Pirates contest, including viewing options.
Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates odds and betting lines
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 3:16 PM ET. For a full list of Sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
- Favorite: Cubs (-127, bet $127 to win $100)
- Underdog: Pirates (+107, bet $100 to win $107)
- Over/under: 7.5
Cubs vs. Pirates: Live streaming info & game time
- Game Day: Thursday, May 16, 2024
- Game Time: 7:40 PM ET
- Stadium: Wrigley Field
- TV Channel: SportsNet Pittsburgh
- Live Stream: Fubo (Watch for free)
Cubs stats and trends
Cubs betting records
- The Cubs have entered the game as favorites 16 times this season and won 10, or 62.5%, of those games.
- Chicago has entered nine games this season favored by -127 or more and is 8-1 in those contests.
- The Cubs have a 55.9% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
- So far this season, Chicago and its opponents have hit the over in 18 of 44 games with a total.
- The Cubs are 23-20-0 against the spread in their 43 chances this season.
Justin Steele (Cubs probable starter)
- The Cubs are sending Steele (0-0) out for his fourth start of the season. He is 0-0 with a 4.73 ERA and 11 strikeouts through 13 1/3 innings pitched.
- The lefty last pitched on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, when he threw four innings, allowing six earned runs while giving up six hits.
- In three games this season, the 28-year-old has put up an ERA of 4.73, with 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents are hitting .240 against him.
- He will face a Pirates offense that ranks 26th in the league with 163 runs while batting .223 as a squad. It has a collective .349 slugging percentage (27th in MLB play) and has hit a total of 40 home runs (20th in MLB).
- Steele has thrown four innings, giving up six earned runs on six hits while striking out three against the Pirates this season.
Cubs batting stats
- The Cubs’ 46 home runs rank 11th in Major League Baseball.
- The offense for Chicago has a slugging percentage of .389 this season, 14th in MLB.
- The Cubs’ .237 batting average ranks 17th in the league this season.
- Chicago has scored 202 runs this season, which ranks 10th in MLB.
- The Cubs have an OBP of .320 this season, which ranks 10th in MLB.
- Chicago is ranked 19th in strikeouts per game (8.7) among MLB offenses.
Pirates stats and trends
Pirates betting records
- The Pirates have been victorious in 12, or 48%, of the 25 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season.
- This season, Pittsburgh has been victorious eight times in 15 chances when named as an underdog of at least +107 or longer on the moneyline.
- The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Pirates have a 48.3% chance of walking away with the win.
- Pittsburgh and its opponents have gone over the total this season in 19 of its 44 opportunities.
- The Pirates have posted a record of 21-22-0 against the spread this season.
Jared Jones (Pirates probable starter)
- Jones (2-4) takes the mound first for the Pirates in his ninth start of the season. He has a 2.68 ERA in 47 2/3 innings pitched, with 56 strikeouts.
- In his most recent outing on Friday against the Chicago Cubs, the right-hander tossed six innings, giving up two earned runs while surrendering seven hits.
- The 22-year-old has an ERA of 2.68, with 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings in eight games this season. Opponents are batting .198 against him.
- Jones is trying to build upon a second-game quality start streak in this outing.
- Jones is aiming for his ninth straight appearance lasting five or more innings. He averages 5.9 innings per start.
- He has held his opponents without an earned run in two of his eight outings this season.
- The opposing Cubs offense has a collective .237 batting average, and is 16th in the league with 346 total hits and 10th in MLB action with 202 runs scored. They have the 14th-ranked slugging percentage (.389) and are 11th in all of MLB with 46 home runs.
- Head-to-head against the Cubs this season, Jones has thrown six innings, giving up two earned runs on seven hits while striking out four.
- The 22-year-old ranks 20th in ERA (2.68), fifth in WHIP (.872), and ninth in K/9 (10.7) among qualifying pitchers in MLB play this season.
Pirates batting stats
- The Pirates average 0.9 home runs per game to rank 20th in baseball with 40 total home runs .
- So far this season, Pittsburgh has the fourth-lowest slugging percentage in baseball (.349).
- The Pirates are 27th in MLB with a .223 batting average.
- Pittsburgh scores the fifth-fewest runs in baseball (163 total, 3.7 per game).
- The Pirates’ .302 on-base percentage ranks 23rd in the majors.
