Pittsburgh at Chicago

The Pittsburgh Pirates turned a lot of heads when they started the season 9-2. What was more impressive than that is they won five straight on the road. All that was a positive sign for the future, but they have become more of what most expected since. The Pirates are just 10-23 since that start, and really have struggled with their pitching which has allowed a woeful 55 runs in their last six starts. That is more than nine runs per game. The Cubs are 25-19 to start the season as they come home to open their homestand with a four-game set vs. Pittsburgh. I think this is a strong opportunity for Chicago in this series and on the homestand to move themselves closer to some of the better teams. The Cubs pitching has allowed just 57 runs over their last 16 decisions, or about 3.5 runs per game. I like the Chicago Cubs in this one.