Cubs at Pirates 4/11/21 - MLB Picks & Predictions

Last Updated: 04/10/2021 at 10:28 PM ET

The Chicago Cubs conclude a three-game series on the road Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chicago is 4-3 following a 4-2 victory over the Pirates on Thursday in the opening game series between the two. Chicago received a strong pitching effort from closer Craig Kimbrel, who struck out two hitters with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning and then retired Pittsburgh's three hitters in order in the ninth to post the first five-out save in his 12-year career in the big leagues.

Kris Bryant is batting .250 to lead Chicago and the third baseman has team highs in hits with six and on-base percentage at.357. Javier Baez is leading Chicago in home runs with two and in RBIs with five. Chicago has hit 10 home runs in its first seven games of the regular season. On Sunday, Chicago will send Trevor Williams to the mound. This season the right-hander is 1-0 with an ERA of 3.00, 6 Ks and 2 BBs.

Pittsburgh dropped to a disappointing 1-6 following its loss to the Cubs on Thursday. The Pirates opened the season with a victory over Chicago but have since lost six straight. Pittsburgh is last in the National League Central five games behind first place Cincinnati. Pittsburgh is hitting poorly as a team as the Pirates are averaging only .202 at the plate and have scored only 19 runs through seven games.

Colin Moran is batting .280 to lead Pittsburgh and has a team-high .379 on-base percentage. Phillip Evans is leading Pittsburgh in home runs with two and hits with seven. Erik Gonzalez is the leader in RBIs with four. On Sunday, Pittsburgh will send JT Brubaker to the mound. This season the right-hander is 0-0 with an ERA of 2.25, 6 Ks and 4 BBs.

Pittsburgh Pirates are off to another poor start and are scoring very few runs at a rate of just 2.71 per game, therefore the play here is UNDER. The UNDER has cashed in 10 of Pittsburgh's last 15. The UNDER has also cashed in each of the last six meetings between the two played in Pittsburgh and in eight of the last nine meetings overall between the Cubs and Pirates. Final Score Prediction, Pittsburgh Pirates win but our best play is UNDER 3-2.

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