Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates Picks and Prediction for Tuesday September 16 2025

By: Eddie Kline Published 09/16/2025, 12:50 AM ET

Cubs Preview

Scenic PNC Park will play host to a Tuesday night MLB clash between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Be ready for the baseball season with all of our MLB predictions. The Cubs (86-64) are five games above .500 on the road and are sitting comfortably atop the NL Wild Card standings. Last night, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch each homered to power Chicago to a 4-0 road victory against Pittsburgh.

Rookie right-hander Cade Horton (10-4 2.70 ERA) will make his 21st career major league start for the Cubs. Last time out, Horton (6.1 IP) allowed four hits and one run during a 6-1 road victory against Atlanta.

Pirates Preview

The Pittsburgh Pirates have dropped nine of their previous games and are trapped in the NL Central Division basement. During Monday’s home loss, Pittsburgh batters managed just three hits and left ten men on base. SP Braxton Ashcraft (4-3) gave up three runs in four innings and took the loss for the Pirates (65-86), who fell to 42-34 at home.

Twenty-three year old righty Paul Skenes (10-9 1.92 ERA) is a lock to win the NL Cy Young Award for the Pirates. Through 178 innings of work, Skenes has retired 203 batters by strikes and ranks third in the majors with a 0.92 WHIP.

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Cubs vs Pirates Pick

Chicago OF Kyle Tucker (calf) is currently on the 10-day injured list and is unlikely to play in this series. Through 150 games, Chicago ranks 9th in OPS and 9th in runs scored. For the season, Pittsburgh ranks 30th in OPS and 30th in runs scored. Take the Pirates to win at home. Final Score Prediction, Pittsburgh Pirates win 5-2.

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