Pirates-Cubs Pointers

A winning streak will be on the line for the Chicago Cubs on Friday when they battle the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. The Pirates will pin their hopes on the pitching of righthander Jeff Karstens in this game. Karstens has a 0-0 record and a 0.00 ERA this season. The Cubs will counter Karstens with Jason Marquis. Righthander Marquis has a 4.69 ERA to go along with a 6-6 record this season. NewBodog oddsmakers currently have the Cubs listed as 240-moneyline favorites versus the Pirates, while the game's total has not yet been posted. The Pirates were defeated 7-4 by the Rockies as a +150 underdog on the series finale on Wednesday. The game's 11 runs made it OVER the posted over/under (9). Jason Bay drove in two runs for the Pirates, and Jose Bautista had three hits with one RBI. Zach Duke surrendered six runs over five innings in the loss. Jim Edmonds belted a grand slam as the Cubs completed a four-game sweep of the Brewers with an 11-4 win on Thursday, as -145 favorites. The 15 runs sailed OVER the posted over/under (7.5). Edmonds finished 2-for-3 at the plate with five RBIs. Rich Harden went seven innings for the win, striking out nine batters. Current streak: Chicago has won 5 straight games. Team records: Pittsburgh: 50-58 SU Chicago: 65-44 SU Pittsburgh most recently: When playing on Friday are 3-7 Before playing Chi Cubs are 4-6 After playing Colorado are 5-5 After a loss are 4-6 Chicago most recently: When playing on Friday are 7-3 Before playing Pittsburgh are 6-4 After playing Milwaukee are 5-5 After a win are 6-4 A few trends to consider: The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing on the road against Chi Cubs The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games when playing Chi Cubs The total has gone OVER in 15 of Pittsburgh's last 22 games on the road The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games Chi Cubs are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games Chi Cubs are 8-1 SU in their last 9 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh Chi Cubs are 12-3 SU in their last 15 games when playing Pittsburgh The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chi Cubs's last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh Next up: Chi Cubs home to Pittsburgh, Saturday, August 2