I'm taking the Cubs as I believe Zambrano is in line for a dominant start. He has pitched much better on the road this year 1.61 ERA's worth. He's 5-2 with a 3.03 ERA and he has always pitched well against the Pirates. Look for him to come out firing today. The Cubs hitting wise are a day team averaging close to 1 run more during their day games than night. In my opinion Soriano was hurting this team so now that he is out of the lineup I see them winning some games down the stretch. Hart will go up against the Cubs and it's not an unfamiliar place for Hart as he used to pitch for the Cubs. Now normally I believe the pitcher has the advantage in these type of match ups, but to be honest Hart is not the type of pitcher that can take advantage of a situation like this and I don't think he will.
The Cubs have won 14 straight of their victories over the Pirates by more than 1 run so lets make it 15 as I don't see them losing here today. I think the bullpens will likely have a big role in today's game and Cubbie relievers have a 2.88 ERA in their last three while the Pirates have a 5.92. Hart has not gone more than 6 innings in a single start so the bullpen will most likely pitching 3+ innings for the Pirates which does not look good to me. Pirates are also 16-35 in their last 51 vs. RH starters!
