The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to bolster their win total and reward moneyline bettors when the Chicago Cubs invade PNC Park on Sunday.

Paul Maholm gets the call for the Pittsburgh Pirates and he will try to build on a 5-9 mark. In the other dugout, Ramon Ortiz brings a 0-1 ledger to the game for the Cubs as he tries to quiet the Pirates bats.



View Chi Cubs vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to back visiting Chicago before the first pitch in this match will find them as +-160-moneyline underdogs. They will see an Sportsbook total of 8.

Power Rankings:
It's a baseball betting matchup between the National League No. 12-rated Pirates and the league No. 10-ranked Cubs, according to the latest MLB power poll here at Odds Shark.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Pittsburgh's No. 11-rated National League offense, averaging 3.9 runs per game, against a Cubs defense that ranks No. 15 in the National League at 4.9 in runs allowed per game. The Pirates have averaged 8.2 hits per game so far, less than Cubs batters have averaged on the year (9.1 hits per game).

Comparing defensive stats, Chicago owns the National League's No. 16-rated road mark, allowing 5.1 runs per game on the highway. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, rates No. 13 in scoring at home.

In their last action, Chicago was a 6-3 Sportsbook on the road against the Pirates. Bettors on Chicago at +104 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (9) sent OVER bettors home happy as well. The Cubs enjoyed a 6-3 victory at the expense of the Pirates on Saturday, with Ryan Dempster throwing 5 innings of 7-hit ball at PNC Park.




Chicago Cubs Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Florida are 5-5
After playing Pittsburgh are 6-4
After a win are 2-8

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 1-9
Before playing Houston are 9-1
After playing Chi Cubs are 5-5
After a loss are 7-3

A few Cubs at Pirates trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chi Cubs' last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chi Cubs' last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Chi Cubs' last 19 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Chi Cubs' last 15 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games at home
Pittsburgh is 6-2 SU in their last 8 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Pittsburgh's last 19 games when playing Chi Cubs


Next up:
Chi Cubs home to Florida, Thursday, July 14
Pittsburgh at Houston, Friday, July 15