Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates Picks and Prediction for Sunday July 26 2026

By: Eddie Kline Published 07/26/2026, 12:05 AM ET

Cubs Preview

NL Central Division rivals will battle on Sunday afternoon, when the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates wrap up their weekend series from PNC Park. Be ready for the baseball season with all of our MLB predictions. The Cubs (59-45) have won seven of their last 11 games and are sitting atop the National League Wild Card standings. Last night, All-Star OF Pete Crow-Armstrong went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs to lead Chicago to an 11-0 road triumph against Pittsburgh.

Thirty-four year old righty James Taillon (2-5 5.38 ERA) spent his first four seasons with the Pirates and is now in his fourth season with the Cubs. In his last start, Taillon (4.1 IP) gave up four runs and struck out six batters during an 8-6 home loss versus Detroit.

Orioles Preview

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a game below .500 at home and are two games back in the race for the final National League Wild Card spot. During Saturday’s home loss, Pittsburgh batters were limited to five hits and failed to record an extra-base knock. Reigning Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (9-9) struck out 11 batters in five plus innings and took the loss for the Pirates, who fell to 53-52 overall.

Twenty-six year old righty Braxton Ashcraft (9-4 3.95 ERA) is having a breakout campaign for the Pirates and was named as a replacement for the All-Star Game. Through 116 plus innings, Ashcraft ranks 12th in the majors with 130 strikeouts and owns a solid 1.17 WHIP.

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Cubs vs Orioles Pick

Chicago SP Ben Brown (neck) has started to take part in workouts and has targeted late August to rejoin the rotation. Through 104 games, Chicago ranks 4th in OPS and 4th in runs scored. For the season, Pittsburgh ranks 3rd in OPS and 2nd in runs scored. Take the Pirates to win at home. Final Score Prediction, Pittsburgh Pirates win 5-3.

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