Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 9/23/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: MARQ/ATPT

Odds/Point Spread: Cubs (-154) Pirates (+142)

Colin Moran and the Pittsburgh Pirates (15-39, 5th in NL Central) play the Chicago Cubs (32-22, 1st in NL Central) at PNC Park on Wednesday. The Cubs open this contest at -154 while the Pirates are coming in at +142. The O/U opens at 9. The starting pitchers are Kyle Hendricks and Trevor Williams.

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

9/22/2020 Kris Bryant 3B Oblique Expected to be out until at least Sep 23
9/21/2020 Ildemaro Vargas 2B Hamstring Out for the season
9/21/2020 Tyler Chatwood SP Forearm Out for the season
9/20/2020 Rowan Wick RP Oblique Out for the season
9/20/2020 James Norwood RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
9/20/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
9/15/2020 Daniel Descalso 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 22

Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

9/22/2020 Jason Martin CF Back Out for the season
9/21/2020 Clay Holmes RP Forearm Out for the season
9/21/2020 Yacksel Rios RP Shoulder Out for the season
9/21/2020 Tyler Bashlor RP Back Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
9/20/2020 Kevin Newman SS Knee Out for the season
9/17/2020 Cole Tucker CF Concussion Expected to be out until at least Sep 25
9/15/2020 Keone Kela RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 22
9/14/2020 Kyle Crick RP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 24
9/6/2020 Anthony Alford CF Elbow Out for the season
8/19/2020 Phillip Evans 3B Jaw Out for the season
8/6/2020 Michael Feliz RP Forearm Out for the season
8/6/2020 Nick Burdi RP Elbow Out for the season
7/23/2020 Luke Maile C Finger Out for the season
6/30/2020 Kevin Kramer RF Hip Out for the season
6/30/2020 Chris Archer SP Shoulder Out for the season
2/13/2020 Jameson Taillon SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cubs have a 32-22 overall record this season. Hendricks (69-47 career win-loss mark) holds a FIP of 3.55 while facing 4,203 batters in the majors. His ERA is 3.13 (361 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.106. He has surrendered 924 base knocks (8.0 hits per nine innings) and has 225 walks. Hendricks has taken the mound for 1,039 innings and has accounted for 879 strikeouts in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.19 and they have given up 137 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .188 against the bullpen and they've struck out 203 hitters and walked 88 batters. As a team, Chicago allows 7.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings. They are 8th in the league in team earned run average at 3.87. The Cubs pitchers collectively have given up 401 base hits and 201 earned runs. They have allowed 63 home runs this season, ranking them 19th in the league. Chicago as a pitching staff has walked 162 batters and struck out 475. They have walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.1 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.20 and their FIP as a unit is 4.05.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago is hitting .224, good for 27th in the league. The Cubs hold a .387 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .319, which is good for 17th in baseball. They rank 26th in MLB with 7.2 hits per game. Anthony Rizzo is hitting .213 with an on-base percentage of .330. He has 40 hits this season in 188 at bats with 21 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .383 and an OPS+ of 94. Kyle Schwarber is hitting .198 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .310. He has totaled 34 hits and he has driven in 23 men in 172 at bats. His OPS+ is 93 while his slugging percentage is at .407. The Cubs have 387 hits, including 77 doubles and 63 home runs. Chicago has walked 203 times so far this season and they have struck out 519 times as a unit. They have left 372 men on base and have a team OPS of .707. They score 4.39 runs per contest and have scored a total of 237 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Pittsburgh has a 15-39 overall mark this year. So far in his MLB career, Williams has conceded 535 hits while accumulating 412 strikeouts in 528 frames. He has surrendered a total of 262 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.342 and a FIP of 4.6. His SO/W ratio is 2.37 and he has gone up against 2,269 batters during his pro baseball career. Williams (30-37 career record) holds a 4.46 earned run average while allowing 9.1 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.63 and they have given up 190 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .200 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 244 batters and walked 111 opposing hitters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.6 batters per nine innings. They are 21st in the league in team earned run average at 4.93. The Pirates pitchers as a team have surrendered 420 base knocks and 252 earned runs this season. They have given up 76 home runs this year, which ranks 8th in Major League Baseball. Pittsburgh as a staff has walked 224 hitters and struck out 489 batters. They give up a walk 4.4 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.40 while their FIP as a staff is 4.88.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .214, good for 29th in the league. The Pirates hold a .338 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .280, which is good for 30th in baseball. They rank 28th in MLB with 6.9 hits per contest. Colin Moran comes into this matchup batting .236 with an OBP of .316. He has 37 hits this year along with 18 RBI in 157 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .439 with an OPS+ of 104. Jacob Stallings is hitting .252 this season and he has an OBP of .333. He has collected 28 hits in 111 at bats while driving in 17 runs. He has an OPS+ of 92 and a slugging percentage of .369. The Pirates as a unit have 371 base hits, including 64 doubles and 46 homers. Pittsburgh has walked 153 times this year and they have struck out on 468 occasions. They have had 312 men left on base and have an OPS of .617. They have scored 3.52 runs per game and totaled 190 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Cubs/Pirates MLB game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Cubs (-154)

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