The total has gone over in 6 of Houser 10 starts and he has allowed many runs in his last 3 starts. He's facing a team that's coming from score 22 runs in the last series.

Chicago starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks is coming off his worst start of the season. Last Friday the right-hander allowed seven runs on eight hits across only five innings resulting in a 10-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Aaron Ashby has had issues this month, allowing nine hits and six runs through his last 11.1 innings. Yu Darvish has been at his best at home, where he has a 1.37 ERA and .145 allowed batting average through 19.2 innings.

The Pirates' weak lineup is slumping in a big way a t the plate, recording three or fewer runs in eight consecutive games including three in Friday’s loss.

The Chicago Cubs have been getting better as of late after a miserable start to the year as they are 17th in the sport with a .680 OPS so far.