After dropping the series to the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago Cubs have a big one ahead of them.
The Pirates have been playing better baseball as of late and now sit only 4.5 games out of the Cubs’ No. 2 spot in the NL Central. Meanwhile, Chicago has seen their deficit for the division lead fall to seven games. They can’t afford to lose any more ground.
Unfortunately, that will be a lot easier said than done against this Pirates pitching staff. They will have their best three arms on the mound over the next three days, starting with one of their top fastball throwers. If the Cubs want to get off on a strong note, they are going to have to time their swings perfectly this evening.
Game Info
Who: Chicago Cubs (57-45) at Pittsburgh Pirates (53-50)
Where: PNC Park
When: 5:40 PM CT
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Listen: 104.3 The Score, Univision TUDN, WPPN 106.7 / TUDN
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
2. Seiya Suzuki, RF
3. Michael Busch, 1B
4. Alex Bregman, 3B
5. Ian Happ, LF
6. Nico Hoerner, 2B
7. Pedro Ramírez, DH
8. Carson Kelly, C
9. Dansby Swanson, SS
The Chicago Cubs will be going with a nearly identical lineup to their series finale against the Detroit Tigers. The only change will come in the seventh spot, where rookie Pedro Ramírez will step back into the DH role. Chicago had Michael Conorto fill that void on Wednesday, only for him to come up dry with three strikeouts.
Ramírez has made a strong case for continued playing time. Over his last 15 outings, he’s batting .314 with 11 hits and 8 RBIs. Ever since he’s come up to the bigs, he has genuinely been one of the Cubs’ more consistently and timely hitters. And that’s what will make this series particularly fascinating to watch! Not only do the Cubs need a boost after dropping that series, but they are facing an intimidating Pirates rotation.
Speaking of which, the Cubs would love for Seiya Suzuki to keep up his slugging ways. The outfielder has two homers against the Tigers and finished the series with 5 RBIs.
Pittsburgh Pirates Lineup
TBD
On the Mound …
Cubs – Matthew Boyd, LHP
Is Matthew Boyd back? Since returning in late June, the Chicago Cubs’ southpaw has looked a lot more like his old self. He’s thrown 6.0+ innings of action in each of his last three starts, and he’s also allowed no more than three hits in two of the last three outings.
Boyd can still be a little better when it comes to allowing hard contact, but he’s looked a lot more polished overall recently. For someone who needs his command to be perfect to find success, it’s been an encouraging few weeks.
Pirates – Jared Jones, RHP
The Cubs will have their work cut out for them in this series opener. Jared Jones’ 4.05 ERA may not feel all that intimidating, but the advanced metrics say it all. He has a strikeout rate that sits just under 30.0 percent, while his whiff rate sits just over 30.0 percent. To no surprise, both rank in the league’s 90th percentile or better.
Why is Jones so good at causing swings and misses? Well, he throws a fastball that averages out at 98.6 mph. He can also couple that with a solid change-up and nasty slider, which is typically his putaway pitch. The only good news for the Cubs is that he is susceptible to allowing some hard contact. The bad news is that he hasn’t allowed a home run this month and has only given up 2 earned runs in his last three starts.
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