The Chicago Cubs look to emerge victorious in MLB odds action as the Pirates arrive at Wrigley Field on Sunday.

Jeff Karstens, with a record of 2-2 on the season, gets the ball for the Pirates, while the Cubs trot Ryan Dempster to the mound in this one. He is 3-4 so far in 2011.



View Pittsburgh vs Chi Cubs Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Chicago opened as -150 moneyline favorites in this baseball match, based on the starting pitcher matchup. That pairing made odds makers settle on an Sportsbook over under number of 999.

Power Rankings:
This game puts the Cubs, most recently No. 7 in the National League Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings, up against the Pirates, who rate a National League No. 16 in the latest survey.



How They Match Up:
At the plate, Chicago owns the No. 2 ranking for hits in the National League at 9.5 per game. By contrast, the Pirates are rated No. 14 in the same category at 7.8 per game.

Defensively, Pittsburgh features the National League's No. 10-rated defense on the road, allowing 4.2 runs per game. Chicago, meanwhile, comes in at No. 7 in the National League at home, scoring 4.2 runs per game.

Pittsburgh was a 10-0 Sportsbook in its last match on the road against the Cubs. They won as -101 underdogs, while the total score of 10 made Sportsbooks of OVER bettors. Pittsburgh ran up the score in their last game on Saturday, jumping to a lead and resulting in a 10-0 victory against Chicago.




Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 2-8
Before playing NY Mets are 3-7
After playing Chi Cubs are 7-3
After a win are 6-4

Chicago Cubs Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 7-3
Before playing Houston are 5-5
After playing Pittsburgh are 5-5
After a loss are 6-4

A few Pirates at Cubs trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing Chi Cubs
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing on the road against Chi Cubs
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi Cubs' last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi Cubs' last 6 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chi Cubs' last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chi Cubs' last 5 games at home


Next up:
Pittsburgh at NY Mets, Monday, May 30
Chi Cubs home to Houston, Monday, May 30