Pittsburgh @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( May 14, 2010 ) Pittsburgh 10, Chi. Cubs 6
The Pittsburgh Pirates found a two-pronged solution to their recent offensive woes - visit Wrigley Field and let Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen tee off on the Chicago Cubs.
After managing only one run and 10 hits in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds earlier this week, the Pirates broke out of their hitting slump in a big way Friday by smacking a season-high 16 hits in a 10-6 victory. The 16 hits were only two short of Pittsburgh's total during a five-game losing streak that fell Friday.
Jones and McCutchen did most of the damage - like they have all season against the Cubs - combining for 10 hits, seven runs and seven RBIs. Jones, who was 5-for-6 with five RBIs Friday, is 10-for-17 with 10 RBIs against Chicago this year. McCutchen went 5-for-5 with two RBIs and is 9-for-11 with four RBIs in the three games he has played against the Cubs this season.
The Pirates have won six straight from the Cubs, including four in a span of 11 days. They haven't taken seven in a row from Chicago since 1990, but they hope to change that on Saturday when left-hander Paul Maholm takes the mound seeking his second win against the Cubs this year.
Maholm beat Chicago on May 4, when he allowed two runs on eight hits over six innings. He has an odd history against the Cubs in that he's 5-1 against them, but has a 6.63 ERA in those 10 starts. Maholm has surrendered 10 homers to the Cubs in his career, including a pair of solo shots last week.
Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez have hit him especially well - Soriano is 7-for-21 with four homers against him, and Ramirez is 8-for-23 with two homers.
In his win against Chicago last week, Maholm beat outdueled Ryan Dempster - and he'll try to do it again on Saturday.
Dempster pitched well enough to win that one, giving up three runs on eight hits over seven innings, but the Cubs didn't give him much run support - which has been a common theme. Dempster has lost his last three starts, and the Cubs have scored a total of seven runs in those games.
Against the Pirates, Dempster is 6-8 with a 5.37 ERA, but 25 of his 43 appearances against Pittsburgh have come as a reliever.
The Cubs have lost eight of 10 and are now 8-9 at Wrigley Field. Their offense has been prone to disappear, and they're in the midst of one of those spells now. Chicago has scored two or fewer runs in six of its last 10 games.
Soriano and center fielder Marlon Byrd can't be held responsible, as both continued their hot hitting Friday.
Soriano had two hits and two RBIs, and Byrd added two hits - including his seventh homer, to up his average to .345.
Rookie shortstop Starlin Castro is also hot, hitting .375 since being recalled last week, but the rest of the lineup has been hit-or-miss - and mostly miss.
Their corner infielders have been a big part of the problem. First baseman Derrek Lee is hitting .230, and even with two hits Friday, Ramirez is still at a lowly .168 average.