MLB Playoff Preview: Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates
Written By David Hess (Follow me on Twitter @DavidHess311)
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Where: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa
Televised: ESPN
Odds: Pittsburgh opened up as favorites of -110, but the money has com in heavily on the Cubs and they are now the favorites at -131. The OU line has been bet down from 6 to R.5, with juice on the Over (-115)
The Chicago Cubs have made it back to the postseason,with hopes of going all the way to the World Series. This is a team built on youth and experience and anything can happen should they make it past the Pirates in this one. Chicago went 97-65 on the year and they were a solid team on the road where they went 48-33 for the year. the Cubes were 6-3 at PNC Park this year.
Getting the Ball for the Cubs in this one is Jake Arrieta, who just may end up winning the Cy Young award this year. Arrieta has gone 22-6 on the year with a 1.77 ERA, while on the road he has gone a stellar 13-1 with a 1.60 ERA. Jake is 6-1 with a 1.68 ERA in 9 career starts vs Pittsburgh, which includes going 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 5 career starts at PNC Park. Jake has faced them 5 times this year and is 3-1 with an 0.75 ERA in those starts.
The Cubs rank 16th in the league in scoring (4.25 rpg) 29th in hitting (.244) and 12th in homers (171). On the road they have hit just .243 and have scored 4.48 rpg.
The Pittsburgh Pirates come in with the 2nd best record in all of baseball, which really seems unfair to them that hey are in this one game playoff and have to face Jake Arrieta to boot. Still Pittsburgh does have the advantage of playing at home where they have gone a very solid 53-28 on the year.
Pittsburgh will send out their own ace in Cole Gerrit, who has gone 19-8 with a 2.60 ERA overall, while at home he went 9-3 with a 2.83 ERA. Gerrit also has goon numbers vs the Cubs in his career, going 7-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 9 starts vs them, including going 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 4 starts vs the Cubs this year.
Pittsburgh comes in ranked 11th in the league in scoring (4.30 rpg), 9th in hitting (.260) and 23rd in homeruns (140). At home they have hit .254 and have scored 4.23 rpg on the year.
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[934] Chicago/ Pittsburgh Under 5.5 I will be looking at the Under in this game. This is playoff baseball at it's finest as we have two pitchers that not only have great umber this year but also have great career numbers in their meetings with the tams they are facing in this one. Jake Arrietts has allowed just 2 ERs total in his last 9 starts and he has a career 1.68 ERA in 9 starts vs the Pirates. Gerrit Cole hasn't been as dominant as Jake has been this year, but he pitches well at home, has a career 2.88 ERA vs the Cubs and Chicago just isn't a good hitting team. This one has 2-1 written all over it.
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