All you can ever really ask of your club – even against categorically terrible teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates – is to win a series. And with victories banked on Friday and Saturday afternoon, the Cubs have already done that. So although they’re the better team with the better pitcher today, the Cubs have already done their job this weekend.
Buuuuuuut … why don’t we just win this one too, for good measure.
A season record of 6-3 against the Pirates looks a whole lot better than 5-4 (this way, we can just pretend the Cubs took 2 of 3 each time they met). And two games above .500 would match their season-high for the year. And, hey, a six game winning streak would be their longest since 2019.
For what it’s worth, Kyle Hendricks is coming off a great start against the Dodgers – during which he pitched all 7.0 innings of his half of the double-header – and I’d love to see him come in and similarly dominate the Pirates.
Even the general offensive splits work in their favor.
Pirates vs. RHP: 87 wRC+ (24th).
Cubs vs. LHP: 115 wRC+ (9th)
So let’s win this one today, eh, Cubs?
Game Info
Pittsburgh Pirates (13-19) at Chicago Cubs (17-16) – Saturday, May 8th at 1:20 CT on Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Starting Pitchers
Pirates: Tyler Anderson (L)
versus
Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (R)
Chicago Cubs (Lineup Discussion):
1. Matt Duffy, 3B
2. Willson Contreras, C
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Kris Bryant, LF
5. David Bote, 2B
6. Jason Heyward, RF
7. Jake Marisnick, CF
8. Ildemaro Vargas, SS
9. Kyle Hendricks, P
Pittsburgh Pirates:
1. Adam Frazier, 2B
2. Kevin Newman
3. Ka’ai Tom, LF
4. Jacob Stallings, C
5. Eric Gonzalez, 3B
6. Wilmer Difo, CF
7. Todd Frazier, 1B
8. Troy Stokes Jr., RF
9. Tyler Anderson, P