The Pirates get a visit from the Chicago Cubs in baseball action on Friday, with the home side looking to send the visitors to the showers with a loss.

Rodrigo Lopez, with a record of 1-1 on the season, gets the ball for the Cubs, while the Pirates trot James McDonald to the mound in this one. He is 5-4 so far in 2011.



View Chi Cubs vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
The visitors opened as +-135 moneyline underdogs in this one at most online sportsbooks tracked at Odds Shark. The total opened at 8.5 for those preferring over under wagers.

Power Rankings:
This game matches up the No. 12 (Pirates) and the No. 10 (Cubs) teams in their respective leagues, according to our current MLB Power Rankings.



How They Match Up:
At the plate, Pittsburgh owns the No. 13 ranking for hits in the National League at 8.1 per game. By contrast, the Cubs are rated No. 2 in the same category at 9.1 per game.

Chicago brings the National League's No. 15-rated defense to this matchup, facing the Pirates' league No. 5-ranked defense.

Last time out for Chicago, they were a 10-9 Sportsbook as they battled the Nationals on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Cubs at +100 were rewarded, while the 19 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. The Cubs grabbed a win last time out, defeating Livan Hernandez and the Nationals 10-9 on Thursday at Nationals Park.

In their last action, Pittsburgh was an 8-2 loser at home against the Astros. Bettors on Houston at +107 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (10) sent OVER bettors home happy as well. The Pirates were saddled with a loss last time out in Charlie Morton's start, as they lost 8-2 against Houston on Wednesday at PNC Park.


Chicago Cubs Trends:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Pittsburgh are 4-6
After playing Washington are 4-6
After a win are 3-7

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Chi Cubs are 5-5
After playing Houston are 7-3
After a loss are 7-3

A few Cubs at Pirates trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chi Cubs' last 7 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 UNDER in 6 of Chi Cubs' last 9 games
Chi Cubs are 7-16 SU in their last 23 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing Chi Cubs
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs
Pittsburgh is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home


Next up:
Chi Cubs at Pittsburgh, Saturday, July 9