Pirates at Cubs 7/13/19 - MLB Picks & Predictions

Historic Wrigley Field will play host to a Saturday matinee between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. On Friday, Pittsburgh rallied for three runs to tie things up during the eighth inning of a 4-3 road loss against Chicago. Starling Marte provided the offense with a three-run blast for the Pirates, who are two games below .500 overall.

Twenty-eight year old righty Jordan Lyles (5-5 4.36 ERA) will take the mound for the Pirates in this matchup. Pittsburgh has lost each of Lyles’ last five starts and he has been tagged for 20 runs over his last 23 frames. The NL Central Division leading Chicago Cubs started off yesterday’s important nine-game homestand with a dramatic victory. Kris Bryant broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning with his 18th home run and Jason Heyward delivered the winning run with a two-out single an inning later. SP Yu Darvish struck out eight batters across six scoreless innings for the Cubs, who lead the Brewers by a full game for first place.

Chicago skipper Joe Maddon will give the nod to veteran left-hander Jon Lester (8-6 3.72 ERA) on Saturday. Last time out, Lester allowed three runs (one earned) in six plus innings of a 6-3 road victory against the White Sox.