Pre-Gamin’: Cubs at Pirates (6:05 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread

So far this season, the Chicago Cubs are 20-15 at home, but just 12-18 on the road. If they hope to take the Central by the end of the year, that’s going to have to change … and, like, fast.

Because starting today, the Cubs are playing in 17 straight contests, of which only three will be at Wrigley Field. That’s 14 road games they can not afford to win at a .400 pace. In reality, they really need to play even better than *.500* during this stretch if they hope to cover some ground in the standings.

And that all starts tonight with Eddie Butler. But unlike some of his early starts with the Cubs, hearing Butler’s name isn’t terrifying (in my opinion). In fact, he’s put together back-to-back usable starts against two pretty good lineups in Colorado and Miami:

Miami: 5.2 IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 4K
Colorado: 5.0 IP, 6H, 3ER, 1BB, 3K

The best part of both games is that Butler’s walked just two batters in 10.2 innings pitched, versus 13 in the 18.1 IP prior. If he can continue to work in the zone and keep the free passes to a minimum, he might be able to string together three straight winnable starts. And that’s all you can ask from him at this point. Remember, he’s got the talent, it’s just about harnessing all of it.

And if you’re still nervous about Butler’s start tonight, you can at least take solace in the fact that he’s matched up against arguably the weakest pitcher of the weekend. Trevor Williams, 25, has made just 7 starts this season and they haven’t gone too well: 5.05 ERA, 4.62 FIP, 4.62 xFIP.

He does have a pretty nice 48.3% ground ball rate and an unfairly low 63.4% strand rate, but the Cubs should be able to manage this righty. It might not be a low scoring affair, but I’ll take the Cubs over the Pirates tonight.

Game Info

Chicago Cubs (32-33) at Pittsburgh Pirates (30-36) – 6:05 CT on WGN, 670 The Score

Game Thread and Series Preview

Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun today.

  • The Series Preview lives here.
  • The Lineup Discussion is here.
  • Starting Pitchers

    Cubs: Eddie Butler (R): 4.03 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 4.75 xFIP; 1.40 K/BB

    versus

    Pirates: Trevor Williams (R): 5.13 ERA, 4.82 FIP, 4.98 xFIP; 2.38 K/BB

    Pittsburgh Pirates:

    1. Adam Frazier, LF
    2. Josh Harrison, 2B
    3. Gregory Polanco, RF
    4. David Freese, 3B
    5. Josh Bell, 1B
    6. Andrew McCutchen, CF
    7. Francisco Cervelli, C
    8. Jordy Mercer, SS
    9. Trevor Williams, P

    Chicago Cubs Lineup:

    1. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
    2. Ian Happ, 2B
    3. Kyle Schwarber, LF
    4. Addison Russell, SS
    5. Jason Heyward, RF
    6. Willson Contreras, C
    7. Tommy La Stella, 3B
    8. Eddie Butler, P
    9. Albert Almora Jr., CF

    written by

    Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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