Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 4/8/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Thursday, April 8, 2021

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Chicago (-142) Pittsburgh (+132)

PNC Park is the venue where Tyler Anderson and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1-4, 5th in NL Central) will play the Chicago Cubs (3-2, 2nd in NL Central) on Thursday. The odds on this game have the Cubs coming in at -142 and the Pirates are at +132. The total has been set at 8.5. The men taking the mound will be Jake Arrieta and Tyler Anderson.

As a unit, the Chicago Cubs are notching 3.4 runs per game, which has them sitting at 24th in MLB. They have earned a total of 17 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .265. The Cubs have tallied 5 two-baggers as a unit and have hit 6 balls out of the park. They have recorded 17 runs batted in in addition to 18 base knocks on the year, while their team batting average is .132. Chicago owns a slugging percentage of .316 and have struck out 48 times, while being walked on 23 occasions.

The Cubs hold a team ERA of 3.20 on the season (7th in MLB), and the staff has struck out 53 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 23 opposing players and their FIP is 4.01 as a squad over the course of the season. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.30 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.20. Cubs pitchers have relinquished 5 home runs and 16 total runs (23rd in baseball).

The Cubs bullpen has stepped onto the mound in 8 save situations. The relievers have inherited 13 base runners this season and 23.1% of those players earned a run for their team. Cubs bullpen pitchers have entered the game with runners on in 7 outings in addition to 7 games with high leverage. The Cubs have dispatched 20 relief pitchers to the mound this year. The bullpen have tallied 6 holds so far this season (2nd in the league). They have tallied 2 saves this year and have yet to blow a save.

Arrieta (111-79 career mark) has earned a FIP of 3.85 while he has gone up against 6,310 opposing batters during his time in the majors. He has surrendered 1,325 base hits (7.8 hits per nine innings) with 528 walks. His ERA is 3.75 (633 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.219. Arrieta has taken the mound for 1,519 innings and has accounted for 1,355 punch outs during his pro baseball career.

The Pirates have a slugging percentage of .350 and they are scoring 2.60 runs per game (28th in MLB). They have recorded 5 doubles, while taking a walk 20 times as well as racking up 13 runs. Pittsburgh has hit 6 long balls so far this season to go along with 13 runs batted in. They have struck out on 50 occasions (15th in the league) and are sitting with 32 base hits. The Pittsburgh Pirates have accumulated an OBP of .288 as well as a team batting average of .196 on the campaign.

The Pirates have a team WHIP of 1.463 in addition to having a FIP of 4.57 as a team so far this season. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.30 (53 strikeouts vs 23 walks). They are sitting at 16th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 37. They have allowed 7 long balls and they concede 6.80 runs per 9 innings (28th in MLB). The Pittsburgh pitching staff have surrendered 31 runs this year while having a team ERA of 6.59 (30 earned runs given up).

Pittsburgh has had relief pitchers enter the game in 5 save situations and they have walked away with 1 save. They are ranked 7th in the league with a save percentage of 100.0%, and they have dispatched 22 relievers onto the diamond on the year. Their relief pitchers have come into 2 games with high leverage in addition to 4 games with base runners. Pittsburgh relievers have an inherited score percentage of 33.0% out of their 6 inherited runners. Sitting with 1 opportunity for a save, the Pirates have earned 3 holds and also 0 blown saves.

Anderson (22-28 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a 4.66 earned run average while giving up 9.1 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.75 and he has faced 1,966 batters so far in his career. He has given up 239 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.341 and a FIP of 4.5. So far in his pro baseball career, Anderson has allowed 468 base knocks while he has totaled 415 strikeouts in 461 innings pitched.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+132)

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