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Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Odds & MLB Baseball Betting Free Pick

Cubs vs Pirates Preview – MLB Odds

In the opening game for both of these NL Central teams the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Chicago Cubs. Last season the Pirates snapped their 21-season losing drought by making the playoffs. They begin the season with a lot of optimism, even though they lost 2nd best starter A.J. Burnett.

Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Preview
Venue/ Stadium: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Time/Date: 1 PM EST Monday, March 31, 2014
MLB Odds
Moneyline: Cubs +151 / Pirates -161
Over/Under:  7 runs
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ATS Matchup Insight | CP Insider Gambling Preview

Before today’s game Andrew McCutchen will get his MVP award from last season and Clint Hurdle will get his Manager of the Year trophy.

Francisco Liriano (16-8, 3.02 ERA last season) was the ace of the staff last season after signing a 1-year deal with Pittsburgh and he will get the start tonight. The Pirates are 9-1 in Liriano’s last 10 home starts.

Liriano may have to get a good start, as while the Pirates do have McCutchen the offense is still the issue for the Pirates. Last season Pittsburgh only ranked 20th in the league in runs scored, but had the league’s 3rd best team ERA.

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The Cubs have had a losing record in each of the last 5 seasons and they are picked to be at the basement of the NL Central once again. The Cubs struggled last season mainly because they only ranked 28th in the league in runs scored and 21st in team ERA..
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I mean the opening day starter is always the best pitcher on the squad and for the Cubs Jeff Samardzija, who was 8-13 with an ERA of 4.34 last season, will be getting the start today. The Cubs are 0-4 in Samardzija’s last 4 starts.

Nate Schierholt and Anthony Rizzo were the big, if you can call them that, bats in the Chicago lineup last season, as the only 2 players that had at least 20 HR.

Pedro Alverez hit 36 HR and was the only player with 100 RBI for the Pirates last season and he has to have another good season. While the Pirates did not have a high scoring team last season they can go deep and had 6 players that had at least 12 HR.

Betting Trends

The Cubs are 18-41 in their last 59 overall, 1-8 in their last 9 road games, and they have an Under record of 16-5-1 in Cubs last 22 overall.

The Pirates are 4-1 in their last 5 games as a favorite, 14-6 in Liriano’s last 20 starts, and they have an Over record of 5-1 in their last 6 games.

The Pirates are 4-1 in their last 5 games against the Cubs.

Jason’s Pick:

Not great value going with Pittsburgh in this game as a big home favorite, but have to go with them facing a Cubs’ team that will be very lucky to be over .500 this season.

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By Jason Green

Jason Green is back with Cappers Picks again to give out his free sports plays. As always he's hoping the Braves and Redskins can win a championship since their last one in the 90’s was long ago. He’s starting to know the pain of Cubs fans.