Carlos Villanueva is back in the rotation as of today, which is kind of cool. He hasn’t had a ton of time to stretch out, though, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him limited to 70 to 80 pitches, tops. Hopefully the bullpen is ready to be as successful today as it was yesterday. It is now without one of its best pieces, as Villanueva was sporting an ERA just north of two out of the pen.
Game Info
Pittsburgh Pirates (53-33) at Chicago Cubs (37-48), 1:20 CT on WGN.
Game Thread and Series Preview
The Game Thread lives here. You should participate in the madness. And, of course, for those who aren’t into message board-style game threads, please feel free to use the comments on this post for your in-game commentary/outbursts.
The Series Preview for this series lives here.
Starting Pitchers
A.J. Burnett (4-6, 3.12 ERA, 3.33 FIP)
versus
Carlos Villanueva (2-4, 3.45 ERA, 4.01 FIP)
Pittsburgh Pirates Lineup
1. Starling Marte, LF
2. Jose Tabata, RF
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Garrett Jones, 1B
5. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
6. Russell Martin, C
7. Brandon Inge, 2B
8. Jordy Mercer, SS
9. A.J. Burnett, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Julio Borbon, CF
2. Starlin Castro, SS
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Alfonso Soriano, LF
5. Luis Valbuena, 3B
6. Nate Schierholtz, RF
7. Darwin Barney, 2B
8. Welington Castillo, C
9. Carlos Villanueva, P