Pirates vs Cubs: Battle for NL Central

0:00It's April 10, I'm Cory with the story, and this is MLB News Today Baseball News, powered by AI. Pittsburgh Pirates sit at seven wins and five losses, holding third in the National League Central, while the Chicago Cubs are six and six, hanging in, fifth place. These two squads kick off a three-game series Friday afternoon at 220 PM Eastern in Chicago, marking their first match of this season. On the mound, look for Carmen Molizinski, starting for the Pirates with a 4.00 ERA, facing off against the Cubs Shada Imanaga, who's got a 4.50 mark. Betting lines have the Cubs as favorites at minus 152, with the over-underset at six and a half runs. The Pirates boasts the sixth-best on-base percentage in the majors at 0.338, and they're 3 and 3 on the road. Meanwhile, the Cubs are 3 and 3 at home, but struggle at 2 and 5 when they allow a homer. Over the last 10 games, Pittsburgh's been hot at 7 and 3, hitting 0.242 with a sharp

1:022.70 team, ERA, outscoring, foes by 12 runs. The Cubs are 5 and 5, batting just 0.214, but holding opponents to 3.10 runs. Key injuries hit both sides hard, with the Cubs missing pictures like Justin Steele and Matthew Boyd on the I.L. plus Sayas Suzuki and the Pirates. Without Jared Jones and Jared Trial, this sets up a gritty battle should be fireworks either way.