The Cubs couldn’t pull off the second straight sweep, but maybe it’s a good thing. That would have set us up to expect them to sweep in Pittsburgh, and this is a four-game series. So that’s, like, hard.
Edwin Jackson takes the ball tonight in a start that might confirm whether he’s actually hot, or if he’s just had a couple fortunate starts after a really, really bad start. On the other side, the Cubs get sinkerballer Charlie Morton, whom they handled well earlier in the year by going lefty-heavy.
So, they’re going to try it again.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (24-35) at Pittsburgh Pirates (29-33), 6:05 CT on WCIU.
Game Thread and Series Preview
Game threads now live here in the comments – and with Disqus, they should be even more enjoyable.
The Series Preview lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Edwin Jackson (4.59 ERA, 3.53 FIP, 3.75 xFIP; 2.24 K/BB)
versus
Charlie Morton (3.31 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 4.20 xFIP; 1.86 K/BB)
Pittsburgh Pirates Lineup
1. Josh Harrison, RF
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Ike Davis, 1B
5. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
6. Starling Marte, LF
7. Jordy Mercer, SS
8. Chris Stewart, C
9. Charlie Morton, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Emilio Bonifacio, 2B
2. Junior Lake, CF
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Starlin Castro, SS
5. Luis Valbuena, 3B
6. Nate Schierholtz, RF
7. Chris Coghlan, LF
8. John Baker, C
9. Edwin Jackson, P