Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/20/2022

Time: 7:05 p.m. ET

Venue: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Where to watch: Marquee Sports Network, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh

DraftKings: Cubs -115, Pirates -105

BetMGM: Even

Caesars: Pirates -115, Cubs -105

Cubs: 25-41

Pirates: 26-39

It was a good weekend for the Chicago Cubs and a rough few days for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs did exactly what they needed to do. Somehow, the Cubs took two of three against the Atlanta Braves -- fresh off a 14-game winning streak -- and gave the Chicago faithful something to look forward to. The Pirates, meanwhile, lost two of three to the San Francisco Giants but were able to end things on a high note thanks to Jack Suwinski.

That's a lot to unpack for two of the bottom feeders in the National League Central, but they will begin a four-game series in Pittsburgh that will cap off a seven-game homestand for the Pirates and that will hopefully result in a turning of the page after what's been an abysmal June for the Pittsburgh contingent.

But we will start with Pittsburgh because they haven't had much to cheer for this month. But one player they can be happy about is Suwinski, the 23-year-old rookie who hit three home runs, including the walk-off shot in the bottom of the ninth for the 4-3 win over the Giants.

It's not the first time that the Pirates have gotten clutch hitting from Suwinski. He hit a two-run walk-off homer on June 4 against Arizona and followed that the next day with a three-hit game to complete the series victory.

“I was just like, ‘No way, man. No way that’s going,'" Suwinski said off the slider he hit from Tyler Rogers. “That guy is hard to hit off of. Coming from that low under there, it’s not an easy at bat.”

Suwinski became the first rookie to end a three-homer game with a walk-off blast. Not too shabby.

The Pirates are 4-11 in the month of June and now have a rookie tied for the team lead in home runs, which isn't something to cheer about, but Suwinski has been responsible for two of those wins, so I guess if you're looking for a silver lining, that might be it.

“I was not trying to think about that," Suwinski said when Pirates manager Derek Shelton asked him if he was ready to go deep a third time. “You start trying to do too much and then you just blow it or whatever. I was just trying to not think about that and just focus on what the pitcher had.”

The Cubs, meanwhile, had to deal with a rough end to their weekend after handing the defending World Series champions back-to-back losses. Kyle Hendricks got rocked for 4.1 innings and allowed all six runs with two of them coming off homers; Travid d'Arnaud opened the first with a three-run homer, and Michael Harris II connected again with a solo shot in the top of the fifth.

Chicago was held to just six hits with Ian Happ recording two of them.

"I have to go back and look, but a lot of the replays looked like stuff in the middle of the zone," manager David Ross said of his struggling ace. "Just leaking back. Trying to go in, pulling it middle. Trying to go in, pulling it middle."

Hendricks fell to 2-6 on the season and his ERA ballooned to 5.43.

"I know he wants to be as consistent as he possibly can and puts in the work, for sure," Ross said. "Right now just repeating that outing to outing is just, been a little bit of a struggle."

Most of the time it comes down to which team can either build on the good or revert back to the bad, and both teams have had a bit of bad as of late. I look at the Cubs and how well they were in those first two games, that I think there's good cause for Caleb Killian to come in and throw a solid outing against these Pirates for a good start to the series. Cubs win 5-3

Cubs are 13-15 against division opponents this season.

Cubs are 17-29 against right-handed starters this season.

Cubs are 12-20 this season when the line is between +125 and -125.

Pirates are 13-19 at home this season.

Pirates are 6-21 when playing on Monday the past three seasons.

Cubs:
Christopher Morel (R) CF
Willson Contreras (R) DH
Ian Happ (S) LF
Jonathan Villar (S) 2B
Patrick Wisdom (R) 3B
Nico Hoerner (R) SS
Yan Gomes (R) C
Jason Heyward (L) RF
Alfonso Rivas (L) 1B
SP - Caleb Killian

Pirates:
Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B
Bryan Reynolds (S) CF
Daniel Vogelbach (L) DH
Michael Chavis (R) 1B
Jack Suwinski (L) LF
Cal Mitchell (L) RF
Diego Castillo (R) SS
Michael Perez (L) C
Hoy Park (L) 2B
SP - JT Brubaker

Batting average: Ian Happ -- .284

Home runs: Wilson Contreras -- 12

RBI: Frank Schwindel -- 33

Wins: Keegan Thompson -- 6

ERA: Kyle Hendricks -- 5.43

Batting average: Ke'Bryan Hayes -- .270

Home runs: Jack Suwinski -- 11

RBI: Michael Chavis -- 22

Wins: Dillon Peters -- 4

ERA: Jose Quintana -- 3.66