An NL Central contest has the Chicago Cubs (68-52) hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates (51-71) on Friday afternoon. Both teams are coming off losses, as the Cubs lost 2-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers defeated Pittsburgh 12-5 on August 13. 

First pitch is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Cubs are the -199 money-line favorites (risk $199 to win $100) in the latest Pirates vs. Cubs odds, while the Pirates are +164 underdogs (risk $100 to win $164). The over/under for total runs scored is 9 in the latest MLB odds. 

Before you make any Pirates vs. Cubs picks or MLB predictions, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It enters Week 21 of the 2025 MLB season a profitable 31-23 on top-rated MLB money-line picks. It has excelled making home run prop picks this season, returning nearly 60 units of profit. Anybody following could have seen strong returns!

The model has simulated Pirates vs. Cubs 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you the model is going Under on the run total, and it also says one side of the money line has all the value!

Who wins Pirates vs. Cubs, and which side of the money line has all the value? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the money line you should be all over, all from the model on a 31-23 roll on top-rated MLB money-line picks!