I have to say that I'm a bit melancholy today, as Friday marks the first true sign that summer is over for me -- the last Friday matinee of the MLB season for the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. They welcome the suddenly surging Pittsburgh Pirates for a 2:20 ET first pitch, and boy do a lot of edges point the North Siders' way. Not that I need a reason to back my Cubs (actually I do).
Bettors are following suit with north of 85% of the money and tickets on the Chicago money line, even at a fairly big number. There is also solid action on Over 8 runs with pretty neutral weather conditions. Bet $5+ on any of Friday's games and get $200 in bonus bets when you bet at DraftKings Sportsbook: Let me say this one last time in 2026 because it's my final opportunity: There are maybe no stronger advantages for any MLB team than the Cubs have when they were off Thursday, host one of these Friday matinees and the visiting team had to travel in late the night before.
For competitive reasons, the league office tries to avoid schedudling these sorts of instances when possible, but it's essentially impossible to avoid altogether in a crammed 162-game slate. The Pirates are in that spot today, with a major asterisk: They played at the White Sox last night, so they at least didn't have to get on a plane. But, hey, it can take a while to travel from the South Side to the North Side of Chicago, believe me.
That's obviously a break for the Bucs but it's still a major disadvantage turning around and playing 14 hours later at a different ballpark. In addition, Pittsburgh closer Mason Montgomery and setup man Luke Weaver are surely unavailable today as each pitched the past two games. It's a major schematic hit for manager Don Kelly.
Fans can try MLB betting on the best sports betting apps and get bonuses. The SportsLine Projection Model also has picks on games like Pirates-Cubs from its 10,000 simulations, and our experts also offer insights on games every day. DraftKings SGP price: +128 (subject to change) It's probably too little, too late for an NL wild-card chance this year for Pittsburgh, but it has won four straight to get over .500 for the first time since July 29 and is 4.5 games back of the final NL wild-card spot held by San Diego.
Simply finishing above .500 would be a huge step forward for the franchise as it hasn't since 2018. The future looks quite bright with the likes of shortstop Konnor Griffin, Oneil Cruz, Paul Skenes and first-time All-Star Braxton Ashcraft, who was set to be Friday's starter. Had Ashcraft not somewhat barely exceeded his rookie status last year (by 19.2 innings), he'd be the NL Rookie of the Year favorite at 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.
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