Pirates at Cubs 9/25/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Pittsburgh Pirates play the second game of a four-game series on the road Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates were defeated on Sunday by the Milwaukee Brewers 13-6. Pittsburgh was eliminated from playoff contention after the Giants lost to the Cardinals. The Pirates gave up five runs during the sixth even though the Brewers managed to hit the ball out of the infield just once.

The Chicago Cubs won for the second straight day on Sunday defeating the Chicago White Sox 6-1. Kyle Schwarber hit a home run and knocked in two runs. The win kept the Cubs in first place 2 ½ games ahead of second place Milwaukee with just seven games to play. The Cubs magic number to clinch the National League Central is five. Corey Dickerson leads the Pirates with a .298 batting average. Starling Marte has a team high 148 hits. Gregory Polanco is the team leader in home runs with 23 and in RBIs with 81, but is lost for the season with a shoulder injury. Pittsburgh has a team batting average of .254 while opposing hitters are averaging .251 at the plate against Pirates pitching. On Tuesday, the Pirates will send Chris Archer to the mound. The right-hander this season is 5-8 with an ERA of 4.49, 153 Ks and 47 BBs.

Ben Zobrist leads the Cubs with a .314 batting average. Javier Baez leads the team in home runs with 34, RBIs with 110 and hits with 168. Chicago has a team batting average of .259 while opposing hitters are averaging .240 at the plate against Cubs pitching. On Tuesday, the Cubs will send Mike Montgomery to the mound. The lefthander this season is 5-5 with an ERA of 3.75, 82 Ks and 38 BBs.