The Chicago Cubs will look to grab a road win when they take on the Pirates in Pittsburgh at PNC Park on Thursday in baseball odds action.

Edwin Jackson, with a record of 1-6 on the season, gets the ball for the Cubs, while the Pirates trot Jeanmar Gomez to the mound in this one. He is 1-0 so far in 2013.



View Chi Cubs vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Pittsburgh was a -125 moneyline favorites earlier in the day at Sportsbook, based on the starting pitcher matchup. That pairing made odds makers at Sportsbook settle on an Sportsbook over under number of 8.

Power Rankings:
The Pirates sit at No. 5 in the National League in the current MLB power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Cubs sit at a National League No. 6 on the same chart.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Pittsburgh's No. 10-rated National League offense, averaging 4 runs per game, against a Cubs defense that ranks No. 7 in the National League at 4 in runs allowed per game. The Pirates have averaged 8 hits per game so far, less than Cubs batters have averaged on the year (8.4 hits per game).

Comparing defensive stats, Chicago owns the National League's No. 2-rated road mark, allowing 3.4 runs per game on the highway. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, rates No. 10 in scoring at home.

The Cubs were a 1-0 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Pirates. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got Pittsburgh at -137 on the moneyline, while the total score (1) was good news for UNDER bettors. Chicago didn't plate a single run in their last outing, shut down by Francisco Liriano in a losing cause, 1-0, against Pittsburgh on Wednesday.




Chicago Cubs Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Cincinnati are 2-8
After playing Pittsburgh are 4-6
After a loss are 4-6

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Milwaukee are 5-5
After playing Chi Cubs are 4-6
After a win are 7-3

A few Cubs at Pirates trends to consider:
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 on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Chi Cubs' last 17 games
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Chi Cubs' last 22 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Pittsburgh is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
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 at home against Chi Cubs


Next up:
Chi Cubs at Cincinnati, Friday, May 24
Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, Friday, May 24