The Chicago Cubs will look to bolster their win total and reward moneyline bettors when the Pittsburgh Pirates invade Wrigley Field on Friday.

Ryan Dempster gets the call for the Chicago Cubs and he will try to build on a 10-10 mark. In the other dugout, Brian Burres brings a 0-0 ledger to the game for the Pirates as he tries to quiet the Cubs bats.



View Pittsburgh vs Chi Cubs Odds and Stats.

Power Rankings:
The Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings have the Cubs at No. 10 in the National League and the Pirates at No. 16 in the National League heading into this contest.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Chicago's No. 9 ranked National League offense (4 runs per game) against a Pirates defense and pitching staff that sits at No. 9 in the National League at 4.3 runs allowed per game. The Cubs have been averaging 8.9 hits per game, more than the Pirates have managed so far this season (8.1 hits on average).

Chicago owns the National League's No. 15 defense, allowing 4.8 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Pittsburgh's National League No. 9-rated defense.

In their last action, Pittsburgh was a 6-4 loser at home against the Dodgers. Bettors on Los Angeles at +114 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (10) sent OVER bettors home happy as well. Pittsburgh didn't get the job done in their last match, falling 6-4 to Los Angeles on Thursday at PNC Park.

Chicago was a 4-0 loser in its last match on the road against the Giants. They lost as +163 underdogs, while the total score of 4 made winners of UNDER bettors. Chicago didn't plate a single run in their last outing, shut down by Madison Bumgarner in a losing cause, 4-0, against San Francisco on Wednesday.


Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing Chi Cubs are 3-7
After playing LA Dodgers are 2-8
After a loss are 4-6

Chicago Cubs Trends:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing Pittsburgh are 7-3
After playing San Francisco are 3-7
After a loss are 4-6

A few Pirates at Cubs trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing Chi Cubs
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing on the road against Chi Cubs
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chi Cubs' last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chi Cubs' last 7 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi Cubs' last 6 games at home
Chi Cubs are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh


Next up:
Pittsburgh at Chi Cubs, Saturday, September 3