Chicago @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( May 4, 2010 ) Chi. Cubs 2, Pittsburgh 3
It was only one night, but perhaps the Pittsburgh Pirates' struggling pitching staff is beginning to turn the corner.
The Pirates can only hope so.
Pittsburgh entered the week with a team ERA of 6.79, by far the worst in the majors, but left-hander Paul Maholm and three relievers shut down the Cubs for the most part Tuesday. Maholm gave up eight hits and three walks, but only two runs, and the bullpen put up three scoreless frames in a 3-2 win.
They hope 26-year-old right-hander Charlie Morton can keep it going. Morton is 0-5 with a 12.57 ERA in five starts, but his last outing was his best of the year by far. He went six innings, allowing six runs - three earned - on six hits and striking out eight in a 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Morton has not fared well in three starts against the Cubs - he is 1-2 with a 10.22 ERA.
Morton might be wise to pitch around the red-hot duo of Alfonso Soriano and Ryan Theriot. Soriano's solo homer Tuesday was his fifth in the last four games and his 15th against the Pirates since 2007. And Theriot, who is riding a 13-game hitting streak after collecting two more hits Tuesday, is 4-for-6 lifetime against Morton.
The improved pitching performance Tuesday helped Pittsburgh snap a three-game losing streak. The Pirates returned home having lost 10-of-13, including a 3-7 road trip, but they snapped Chicago's three-game win streak Tuesday, keeping the Cubs from breaking .500 for the first time this year.
The Cubs will try to get back to the .500 mark by sending veteran left-hander Ted Lilly to the mound on Wednesday.
In two starts since returning from shoulder surgery, Lilly has had vastly different outcomes. In his first outing, he threw six scoreless innings and allowed three hits in a 5-1 win at Milwaukee. But he was knocked around Thursday against Arizona, giving up six runs on seven hits over five innings in a 13-5 loss. He surrendered three home runs.
Lilly is 4-2 with a 4.29 ERA in 12 appearances - 10 starts - against the Pirates.
Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen is day-to-day with a mild ankle sprain that kept him out of the lineup for the first time all season Tuesday. McCutchen could be back as early as Wednesday, but if he isn't ready, Ryan Church is expected to start in his place. Church did so Tuesday and drove in the winning run with a two-run homer in the sixth inning. It was his first of the year.
Even if McCutchen's ankle is good to go, the Pirates might want to hold him out - he is 0-for-9 lifetime against Lilly.