Pirates vs Cubs Baseball Handicapping

Courtesy of OddsShark.com: Divisional bragging rights will be on the line on Monday when the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs meet at Wrigley Field. Lefthander Paul Maholm will take the mound for the Pirates to start this game. Maholm is 7-12 this season with a 4.82 ERA. Starting this game for the Cubs will be Carlos Zambrano. The righthander has a 4.73 ERA to go along with a 5-5 record this season. Oddsmakers currently have the Cubs listed as 180-moneyline favorites versus the Pirates, while the game's total has not yet been posted. The Pirates lost to Milwaukee 8-4 as a +160 underdog on Sunday. The 12 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (9.5). Neil Walker hit a two-run home run for Pittsburgh, while Ryan Doumit and Delwyn Young added solo shots. The Cubs lost to Cincinnati 7-5 as a +190 underdog on Sunday. The 12 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (9). Kosuke Fukudome hit a two-run home run for Chicago and Geovany Soto was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Current streak: Pittsburgh has lost 3 straight games. Team records: Pittsburgh: 43-87 SU Chicago: 55-76 SU Pittsburgh most recently: When playing on Monday are 5-5 Before playing Chi Cubs are 5-5 After playing Milwaukee are 2-8 After a loss are 3-7 Chicago most recently: When playing on Monday are 3-7 Before playing Pittsburgh are 3-7 After playing Cincinnati are 3-7 After a loss are 4-6 A few trends to consider: The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Chi Cubs The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing on the road against Chi Cubs Pittsburgh is 11-3 SU in their last 14 games when playing Chi Cubs Pittsburgh is 6-2 SU in their last 8 games when playing on the road against Chi Cubs The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi Cubs's last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi Cubs's last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh Chi Cubs are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games Chi Cubs are 8-15 SU in their last 23 games Next up: Chi Cubs home to Pittsburgh, Tuesday, August 31