Cubs vs Pirates — There’s going to be a little deja vu here for the next week, as the Cubs play seven straight games against the Pirates and Braves after just wrapping up six games against … the Pirates and Braves.
And because this series against Pittsburgh is a four-gamer, the Cubs are seeing all three of the pitchers they got last week, including the two young bucks, Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. Here’s how those two pitchers (plus Bailey Falter) faired against the Cubs last weekend:
Jones: 6.0 IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 4K
Skenes: 4.0 IP, 6H, 3ER, 2BB, 7K
Falter: 6.0 IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 1K
And I’ll warn you, while the Cubs were able to get to Skenes last time, he certainly looked plenty impressive. I wouldn’t be surprised if he lasts longer and has more success now that the debut nerves are out of the way. That said, it’s still a Friday 1:20 game at Wrigley Field and facing the same team twice in short-order isn’t usually good for a pitcher.
Last week, the Pirates saw Javier Assad (whom they’ll miss this time), Kyle Hendricks (who enjoyed his first good results of the year), and Justin Steele who had one of his worst starts in a long time: 4.0 IP, 6H, 6ER, 2BB, 3K (3 homers). Steele is only three starts into his season, two since coming off the IL, so hopefully that failure was just a matter of ramping back up.
As a reminder, the Pirates have fairly significant lefty/righty splits this season, with them strongly favoring southpaws …
vRHP: .215/.294/.325 (77 wRC+, 30th in MLB)
vLHP: .242/.320/.408 (108 wRC+, 12th in MLB)
… But Imanaga and Steele, when at their best, can handle anyone.
As a reminder, the Cubs bullpen right now⛦ looks like this:
Wesneski threw 3.0 innings on Monday, so he should be just ♛about ready to go again if the Cubs need him. But Brown just threw 2.0 innings last night, so he might be down until at least tomorrow.
On the position player side, with only one left-handed Pirates starter, I think we all hope to see more Pete Crow-Armstrong this weekend, though that’ll likely depend on Ian Happ’s status. We’re also hoping to get back Nico Hoerner, who’s been sitting with a hamstring issue, but hasn’t actually hit the injured list.
Beyond that, Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, Mike Tauchman, and Chris Morel should be counted on to do most of the heavy lifting, and they’ve all been good enough of late. Suzuki really seems to be elevating and driving the ball a lot, despite not getting “fair” results.
For the Pirates, Oneil Cruz has been THE guy over the last two weeks, slashing a ridiculous .341/.386/.756 (213 wRC+) over his last 44 PAs. But Connor Joe is right there, as well: .294/.342/.618 (163 wRC+). Joe had a couple homers last weekend, and was generally quite annoying any time he was up. You gotta think the bare minimum for success this weekend is splitting the series, with three wins as the nominal goal. But with Jones and Skenes both slated for the Pirates and some recent struggles for Hendricks, Taillon, and Steele, I wouldn’t take anything for granted.
Cubs vs Pirates – Pitching Probables:
Game 1: Thursday, May 16 at 6:40 CT at Wrigley Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Game 2: Friday, May 17 at 1:20 CT at Wrigley Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The Score
Game 3: Saturday, May 18 at 1:20 CT at Wrigley Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Game 4: Sunday, May 19 at 1:20 CT at Wrigley Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Cubs vs Pirates – Key Injuries:
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