Cubs vs. Pirates Prediction, Odds, Probable Pitchers, Prop Bets for Tuesday, April 29

Iain MacMillan | Apr 29, 2025

The Cubs are road favorites against the Pirates on Tuesday night. / Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates will throw down in a midweek National League series.

The Pirates, as expected, are sitting at 11-18 on the season and in last place in the NL Central. Now, they have to face the best team in the division in the Cubs, who are 17-12 on the year.

Let's dive into the odds and my best bets for tonight's series-opener.

Cubs vs. Pirates Odds, Run Line, and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Run Line

• Cubs -1.5 (+114)
• Pirates +1.5 (-135)

Moneyline

• Cubs -142
• Pirates +120

Total

• 8.5 (Over -108/Under -112)

Cubs vs. Pirates How to Watch

• Date: Tuesday, April 29
• Game Time: 6:40 PM EST
• Venue: PNC Park
• How to Watch (TV): SportsNet-PIT, Marquee Sports Network
• Cubs Record: 17-12
• Pirates Record: 11-18

Cubs vs. Pirates Probable Pitchers

• Chicago: Shota Imanaga, LHP (2-1, 3.18 ERA)
• Pittsburgh: Andrew Heaney, LHP (2-1, 1.72 ERA)

Cubs vs. Pirates Best Prop Bet

• Shota Imanaga UNDER 2.5 Earned Runs (-125) via BetMGM

The Pirates are averaging just 3.52 runs per game this season, the sixth-fewest in the Majors. Now, they face a strong pitcher in Shota Imanaga, who has allowed just one earned run or fewer in three of his five starts this season. This is a great way to fade the poor Pirates offense tonight.

Cubs vs. Pirates Prediction and Pick

In today's edition of "Walk-Off Wagers", I broke down why I'm backing the Cubs to get the win on the road:

The Chicago Cubs have been one of the best offenses in Major League Baseball to start the season. They're second in OPS at .783, and they've been batting .282 against left-handed pitchers. Tonight, they face a lefty in Andrew Heaney of the Pirates. Heaney has had a strong season, but I think it's partly due to variance and we'll see some regression from the Pirates arm. He's been in the Majors since 2014 and has continuously been a solid-but-not-great pitcher. I don't think that at 33 years old, he's all of a sudden going to be a Cy Young candidate.

Offensively, the Pirates have struggled this season, ranking 27th in OPS at .644. As long as the Cubs' offense can continue to roll, Chicago is going to win as road favorites.

Pick: Cubs -142 via DraftKings

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!