Cubs-Pirates Preview

The Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates will both be gunning for a victory on Friday when they meet at PNC Park.

The Cubs will give the ball to ace starter Carlos Zambrano in this one. Righthander Zambrano is 6-1 this season with a 2.45 ERA.

It'll be Zach Duke toeing the rubber for the Pirates in this contest. Lefthander Duke is 2-2 with a 4.23 ERA so far this season.

NewBodog oddsmakers currently have the Cubs listed as 175-moneyline favorites versus the Pirates, while the game's total has not yet been posted.

The Cubs were defeated 5-3 by the Astros in the rubber match on Wednesday, as a -105 pick'em. The eight runs fell UNDER the posted over/under (10).

Derrek Lee cracked a two-run homer for the Cubs, while Sean Gallagher surrendered all five runs over 4 2-3 innings of work.

The Pirates avoided a three-game sweep by Milwaukee Thursday, as they doubled the Brewers 8-4. The Pirates won that game as a -105 pick'em, while the 12 runs made it OVER the posted over/under (9).

Jason Bay went deep for a two-run homer and finished 2-for-4 at the plate. Tom Gorzelanny allowed two runs off eight hits over five innings on the mound.

Current streak:
Chicago has lost 2 straight games.

Team records:
Chicago: 28-19 SU
Pittsburgh: 22-25 SU

Chicago most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Pittsburgh are 8-2
After playing Houston are 7-3
After a loss are 6-4

Pittsburgh most recently:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing Chi Cubs are 3-7
After playing Milwaukee are 6-4
After a win are 5-5

A few trends to consider:
Chi Cubs are 11-1 SU in their last 12 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chi Cubs's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi Cubs's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chi Cubs's last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Chi Cubs
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs
Pittsburgh is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
Pittsburgh is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games

Next up:
Pittsburgh home to Chi Cubs, Saturday, May 24

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