Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/17/2022

Time: 7:40 p.m. ET 

Venue: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

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

DraftKings: NL

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: Cubs -141, Pirates +120

Pirates: 15-20

Cubs: 14-20

As we'll soon discuss, what a rough night for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Eight runs allowed in the first inning with Dillon Peters getting pummeled in the first two-thirds of the inning, giving up five runs in the inning and then Bryse Wilson tried to right the ship. In the end, the game was just over after the first inning.

“Coming out in the first inning, I need to be a little bit more aggressive and figure it out,” said Wilson, who gave up a first-inning grand slam to Wilson Contreras. “We've been working on [the mechanics] and we finally got the mechanics cleaned up a little bit. And now it's just recognizing what kind of usages I need to be doing, as far as pitch usages.”

The Pirates' bats went extremely quiet by having just three hits, all coming from the bottom of the order. Ke'Bryan Hayes went 0-for-3, Bryan Reynolds went 0-for-4 and struck out twice. Poor Wilson had to settle down and pitch 5.1 innings to make it, at least, respectable. But no, it absolutely was not.

“It's a different situation than what I'm used to,” Wilson said. “But I think at the end of the day, I just [have to] execute the pitch. The curveball to Contreras, you just got to know that he’s probably going to ambush it. I don't think it changes anything about the way I'm pitching and how I want to execute pitches.”

The Pirates just don't have the kind of pop that make you believe this group can actually break through. But when you have your top hitters just falling flat on their face, it's just about a horrible situation as you could expect.

Wilson Contreras go boom. That ball is probably still flying in Chicago for all we know. Contreras hit that grand slam so far, and sent the Pirates' pitching rotation into a towering inferno of despair.

The Cubs erupted for 13 hits and left 17 on base in one of their more dominant offensive perfomances in the last couple of weeks. Contreras went 2-for-5 with that grand slam from the leadoff spot, and Ian Happ went a perfect 3-for-3 and had an RBI, as well.

“The grand slam was an amazing moment for me and the team and the fans,” Contreras said. “It was just great. I was trying to enjoy the moment, every little second of it. I'm really proud of what I'm doing.”

And enjoy the moment you did, Wilson. Because man alive, did the Cubs ever enjoy the moment. The Cubs have been having an awkward stretch. You see that crowd when Contreras hit that grand slam? It looked like a typical Cubs game in September. And when Wade Miley is throwing seven innings of one-hit ball, what more could you love?

“It's good to know that,” Contreras said of the historic nature of his first-inning performance. “But it's better when you know that you're the third Cub that has hit 100 homers as a catcher. Making history for this team makes me proud.”

I could see the Pirates bouncing back and evening the series. Keegan Thompson has had some rocky starts in the past, and I'd bet the Pirates need to have a better offensive outing. Pirates win 6-5

Pirates are 8-14 against division opponents this season.

Pirates are 8-16 against right-handed starters this season.

Cubs are 62-66 against division opponents the past three seasons.

Pirates:
Ben Gamel (L) LF
Ke'Bryan Hayes (R) 3B
Bryan Reynolds (S) CF
Daniel Vogelbach (L) DH
Yoshi Tsutsugo (L) 1B
Josh VanMeter (L) 2B
Jack Suwinski (L) RF
Rodolfo Castro (S) SS
Michael Perez (L) C
SP - J.T. Brubaker

Cubs:
Rafael Ortega (L) CF
Willson Contreras (R) C
Ian Happ (S) LF
Seiya Suzuki (R) RF
Alfonso Rivas (L) 1B
Patrick Wisdom (R) 3B
Frank Schwindel (R) DH
Jonathan Villar (S) 2B
Ildemaro Vargas (S) SS
SP - Keegan Thompson

Batting average: Ke'Bryan Hayes -- .301

Hits: Ke'Bryan Hayes -- 34

Home runs: Daniel Vogelbach -- 6

RBI: Ben Gamel -- 15

Wins: Dillon Peters -- 3

Saves: David Bednar -- 7

ERA: Jose Quintana -- 2.19

Batting average: Wilson Contreras -- .277

Hits: Wilson Contreras -- 28

Home runs: Patrick Wisdom -- 6

RBI: Patrick Wisdom -- 17

Wins: Mychal Givens -- 3

Saves: David Robertson -- 5

ERA: Kyle Hendricks -- 4.03