The Chicago Cubs (1-1) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1-1) square off on Sunday at 2:20 PM ET to break a 1-1 series tie. The Cubs are favored (-175) to win the contest against the Pirates (+148). Chicago’s Zach Davies and Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller will take the mound first.
The betting insights and predictions in this article reflect betting data from DraftKings as of April 4, 2021, 3:00 AM ET. See table below for current betting odds and CLICK HERE to bet at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Cubs vs Pirates Betting Odds
Pitching Matchup
The probable pitchers for both teams have not made a start this season. Here are their stats from last season:
| Davies (CHC) | Pitcher | Keller (PIT) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 – 4 | W/L | 1 – 1 |
| 69.1 | IP | 21.2 |
| 2.73 | ERA | 2.91 |
| 1.070 | WHIP | 1.250 |
| 8.2 | K/9 | 6.6 |
| 2.5 | BB/9 | 7.5 |
Cubs Probable Starter Zach Davies
- Davies makes his first start of the season for the Cubs.
- The 28-year-old righty started and threw five innings when he last appeared on Thursday, Oct. 8 against the Dodgers.
- Davies’ team was never a moneyline favorite a season ago in games he pitched.
Starting pitcher projections reflect team information as of April 4, 2021 at 6:06 AM ET and may change up to the start of game.
Pirates Stats vs Davies
| Player | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | OBP | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Frazier | 22 | .364 | 8 | 0 | 1 | .364 | .909 |
| Kevin Newman | 16 | .125 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .118 | .243 |
| Colin Moran | 14 | .286 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .286 | .929 |
| Gregory Polanco | 13 | .308 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .471 | .856 |
| Bryan Reynolds | 11 | .364 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .364 | .819 |
| Jacob Stallings | 4 | .250 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .500 |
| Erik González | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
Pirates Probable Starter Mitch Keller
- Keller has been named the starter for the Pirates and will make his first start this season.
- The 24-year-old righty last pitched Friday, Sept. 25 against the Indians, tossing five innings as the starter.
- Keller and his team won as underdogs in one of his five appearances last season with a moneyline.
Starting pitcher projections reflect team information as of April 4, 2021 at 6:06 AM ET and may change up to the start of game.
Cubs Stats vs Keller
| Player | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | OBP | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward | 6 | .333 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .333 | 1.333 |
| Ian Happ | 5 | .600 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .600 | 2.000 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .429 | .629 |
| Javier Báez | 4 | .500 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2.000 |
| Willson Contreras | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.167 |
| Kris Bryant | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .333 | 1.000 |
| David Bote | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
Cubs Betting Trends
- Last season the Cubs were the 20th-highest scoring team in MLB action averaging 4.4 runs per game (265 total).
- The Cubs finished 24-16 in games they were favored on the moneyline last season (winning 60% of those games).
- Chicago had a record of 11-6 when playing as a moneyline favorite with odds of -175 or shorter (64.7%).
- Chicago played in 58 games with an over/under set, and combined with its opponents to go over the total 28 times (28-28-2).
Pirates Betting Trends
- Last season, the Pirates won 19 out of the 58 games, or 32.8%, in which they were the underdog.
- Pittsburgh entered 31 games last season as the underdog by +148 or more and was 8-23 in those contests.
- Pittsburgh and its opponents hit the over in 26 of their 59 games with a total last season.
Cubs Players to Watch
- Ian Happ had 12 home runs and 28 runs batted in last season.
- Happ fell outside of league leaders in hits and batting average among the qualified hitters in MLB.
- Willson Contreras hit .249 with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 19 walks.
- Contreras was not in the top 10 in hits and RBI among qualifying batters in MLB play.
Cubs Batting Stats (2020)
| Player | AB | AVG | R | HR | RBI | OBP | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Javier Báez | 222 | .203 | 27 | 8 | 24 | .238 | .598 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 203 | .222 | 26 | 11 | 24 | .331 | .745 |
| Ian Happ | 198 | .258 | 27 | 12 | 28 | .358 | .863 |
| Willson Contreras | 189 | .249 | 37 | 7 | 26 | .357 | .770 |
| Jason Heyward | 147 | .265 | 20 | 6 | 22 | .389 | .845 |
| Kris Bryant | 131 | .206 | 20 | 4 | 11 | .293 | .644 |
| David Bote | 125 | .200 | 15 | 7 | 29 | .303 | .711 |
| Joc Pederson | 121 | .190 | 21 | 7 | 16 | .285 | .682 |
| Eric Sogard | 115 | .209 | 10 | 1 | 10 | .281 | .559 |
| Tony Wolters | 100 | .230 | 10 | 0 | 8 | .280 | .550 |
Pirates Players to Watch
- Colin Moran slugged 10 home runs and collected 23 RBI last season while batting .247.
- Moran did not rank among the top hitters in the majors among qualified hitters in MLB.
- Adam Frazier finished with 23 RBI while batting .230 and hitting seven homers.
- Among qualified hitters, Frazier fell outside the MLB leaders in hits and batting average in the league.
Pirates Batting Stats (2020)
| Player | AB | AVG | R | HR | RBI | OBP | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Frazier | 209 | .230 | 22 | 7 | 23 | .297 | .661 |
| Bryan Reynolds | 185 | .189 | 24 | 7 | 19 | .275 | .632 |
| Erik González | 181 | .227 | 14 | 3 | 20 | .255 | .614 |
| Colin Moran | 178 | .247 | 28 | 10 | 23 | .325 | .797 |
| Grégory Polanco | 157 | .153 | 12 | 7 | 22 | .214 | .539 |
| Kevin Newman | 156 | .224 | 12 | 1 | 10 | .281 | .557 |
| Jacob Stallings | 125 | .248 | 13 | 3 | 18 | .326 | .702 |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes | 85 | .376 | 17 | 5 | 11 | .430 | 1.112 |
| Michael Perez | 84 | .167 | 7 | 1 | 13 | .237 | .475 |
| Phillip Evans | 39 | .359 | 6 | 1 | 9 | .444 | .931 |
Cubs vs Pirates Player Props
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