Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 5/7/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Friday, May 7, 2021

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Marquee Sports Network

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+137) Chicago (-148)

Wrigley Field is the site where Zach Davies and the Chicago Cubs (15-16, 3rd in NL Central) will play the Pittsburgh Pirates (13-17, 5th in NL Central) on Friday. The Cubs open this matchup at -148 while the Pirates are coming in at +137. The total is set at 9. The starting pitchers will be Trevor Cahill and Zach Davies.

The Pirates have recorded 51 two-baggers as a team and have smacked 21 balls out of the stadium. Pittsburgh has a slugging % of .347 and have been rung up 257 times, while taking a walk on 100 occasions. As a squad, the Pittsburgh Pirates are notching 3.5 runs/g, which is 27th in baseball. They have earned 102 runs batted in and 221 hits so far this season, while their team batting average sits at .225. They have accumulated 106 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .304.

The Pirates have a team ERA of 4.31 so far this year (20th in the league), and their staff has rung up 255 batters. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 2.45 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.26. Pirates pitchers have conceded 33 long balls and also 135 runs (17th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 104 opposing batters and their FIP comes in at 4.17 as a team over the course of the season.

The Pirates have sent 106 relievers to the mound so far this year. The relievers have inherited 37 runners on the year and 21.6% of those players crossed the plate. They have compiled 5 saves on the campaign and have blown 1 of 6 chances to get a save. The Pirates bullpen have recorded a save percentage of 83.3% and has stepped onto the mound in 25 save situations. The relievers have notched 17 holds over the course of the season (13th in the league). Pirates relief pitchers have entered the game with runners on 23 times as well as having 23 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Pirates have turned 70.5% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 2,313 innings on the field, which has them sitting at 14th in pro baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting with 771 putouts on the campaign, as well as 276 assists and 22 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .979 which has them ranked 25th in the majors, and have earned 222 double plays.

Cahill (86-97 career record) sits with a FIP of 4.39 and he has gone up against 6,403 opposing batters in the majors. He has surrendered 1,434 base knocks (8.6 hits per 9 innings) and has 609 free passes. His earned run average is 4.25 (706 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.367. Cahill has pitched in 1,495 innings and has accounted for 1,143 punch outs so far in his pro baseball career.

The Cubs hold a team slugging % of .406 and they earn 4.71 runs per contest (9th in MLB). They have notched 44 doubles, while taking a walk 119 times and putting up 146 runs. Chicago has a total of 41 home runs so far this year as well as 140 RBIs. They have been called out on strikes on 314 occasions (5th in MLB) and have earned a total of 224 base hits. The Chicago Cubs hold a team OBP of .315 as well as a team batting average of .224 for the season.

The Chicago pitching staff have conceded 152 runs over the course of the season while having an ERA of 4.71 (143 earned runs conceded). They have given up 44 HR's and they concede 5.01 runs per 9 innings (23rd in MLB). The Cubs have a WHIP of 1.436 and have a FIP of 4.82 as a staff on the year. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.20 (293 strikeouts against 133 free passes). They have a ranking of 25th in the league as a staff in total hits conceded with 259.

Chicago has called on bullpen pitchers to enter the contest in 9 save opportunities and they have converted 6 saves. They rank 12th in MLB holding a save percentage of 66.7%, and they have dispatched 127 relievers to the mound on the season. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill 39 times in high leverage situations and on 39 occasions with runners on. Chicago relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 29.0% out of 62 inherited base runners. With 28 save situations, the Cubs have earned 18 holds in addition to 3 blown saves.

The Chicago Cubs have turned 28 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .986 (9th in the majors). The Cubs have racked up 289 assists, 16 errors and have earned 819 putouts so far this season. In their 2,457 innings on the field, the Cubs have earned a defensive efficiency of 68.6% (23rd in baseball).

In his pro baseball career, Davies has surrendered 704 base knocks while totaling 514 punch outs in 706 innings. He has given up a total of 309 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.303 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.2. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.37 and he has gone up against 2,986 batters in his MLB career. Davies (51-38 career mark) has a 3.94 ERA and has allowed 9.0 hits per nine innings.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Chicago (-148)

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