The visiting Pirates hope for a solid performance on Friday as they look to steal a win at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.

Jeff Samardzija will take the mound for Chicago, and he'll carry a 5-7 record into the contest. Francisco Liriano gets the ball for Pittsburgh; he's 7-3 so far this season.



View Pittsburgh vs Chi Cubs Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks such as Sportsbook had set the Cubs as +112 underdogs on the moneyline for this contest. The over under was hovering near 7.5 for bettors hoping to turn a profit on totals at Sportsbook.

Power Rankings:
The Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings have the Cubs at No. 7 in the National League and the Pirates at No. 5 in the National League heading into this contest.



How They Match Up:
At the plate, Chicago owns the No. 10 ranking for hits in the National League at 8.3 per game. By contrast, the Pirates are rated No. 12 in the same category at 8.2 per game.

Chicago owns the National League's No. 7 defense, allowing 4.2 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Pittsburgh's National League No. 2-rated defense.

Pittsburgh lost its last outing, a 6-4 result against the Phillies on July 4. Bettors who backed the Phillies at +123 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (10) sent OVER bettors to the payout window. The Pirates were saddled with a loss last time out in Gerrit Cole's start, as they lost 6-4 against Philadelphia on Thursday at PNC Park.

The Cubs were a 1-0 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Athletics. That made winners of bettors who got Oakland at -162 on the moneyline, while the total score (1) was good news for UNDER bettors. Daniel Straily shut down the Cubs in their last game, striking out 6 in a 1-0 shutout over Chicago in baseball action at O.co Coliseum.


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

Chicago Cubs Trends:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing Pittsburgh are 3-7
After playing Oakland are 6-2
After a loss are 7-3

A few Pirates at Cubs trends to consider:
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing Chi Cubs
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Chi Cubs
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Chi Cubs' last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi Cubs' last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Chi Cubs' last 12 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Chi Cubs are 4-8 SU in their last 12 games at home


Next up:
Pittsburgh at Chi Cubs, Saturday, July 6