This signing has been the best in ball so far, and the Cubs need a win today and their bullpen stinks. I see them riding Imanaga through 7 today if at all possible and he's done it in two of his last 3 starts. Twice recently he has gone over this mark despite not throwing even 90 pitches and he's been stretched out to over 100 once this month as well. Pirates lineup has had its share of issues.

The Pirates are suddenly a little hot, but have been riding their top three starters and this ain't one of them. I have all kinds of issues with the Cubbies pen, but this starter has been as close to perfect as you get and it might take just one run over 5 innings to get us home. Some of the Cubs big bats have done damage in limited sample vs Bailey Falter. Again, if trends hold we don't need much here

The Cubs have lost four of their last five, but I love this spot for them. Both offenses do much better against lefties than righties, but the Cubs can counter those Pittsburgh splits by sending one of MLB's best pitchers to the mound in Shoto Imanaga, who has surrendered just five earned runs in eight starts. He also missed the Pirates series last week, while the Cubs saw Bailey Falter last Sunday, which could lead to more offensive success here. I think the Cubs are an interesting play at -0.5 on the run line as well, but I'm going for the bigger odds with this pick.