Pittsburgh @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 31, 2010 ) Pittsburgh 14, Chi. Cubs 7
The Pittsburgh Pirates got back to beating up on the Cubs on Tuesday night and now look to take two of three games from Chicago in this afternoon’s series finale.
With Tuesday’s big 14-7 victory, Pittsburgh has now won 10 of its last 14 games against the Cubs. The Pirates also snapped a 14-game losing streak on the road.
Pittsburgh turns to James McDonald (2-4, 5.65 ERA) to handle Game 3 against Chicago’s Tom Gorzelanny (7-8, 3.98 ERA).
McDonald heads into this one having dropped three of his last four starts since coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline. He started well enough in his most recent outing, a 7-2 loss against Milwaukee, but couldn’t keep it together. McDonald held the Brewers to just a single run through six innings before yielding five runs in the seventh.
McDonald has a decent fastball that can get up around 94 mph to go along with a curveball and a changeup. The stuff’s all there, but the 6-foot-5 hurler has problems with location and consistency – as was evident in his start against Milwaukee.
Gorzelanny is 1-3 in his last six starts with a 5.73 ERA and was terrible the last time he toed the rubber. He allowed six runs and three dingers in five innings of work during Chicago’s 7-1 loss to Cincinnati last week.
This will be the fourth time Gorzelanny will be up against his former team since the trade that brought him to Chicago last summer. The left-hander is 1-0 against the Pirates, posting a 3.60 ERA over those starts.
Tuesday’s win was a big one for the Pirates. It was only their fifth win over their last 43 road games and their fifth in their last 22 games overall.
Neil Walker helped wake up Pittsburgh’s offense in a big way on Tuesday. The second baseman went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. Garrett Jones hit a three-run shot and Andrew McCutchen added a pair of hits and two RBIs while scoring a couple of runs.
It was the first time the Pirates (44-88) showed that kind of pop since they put up 26 runs over two games against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 20-21. They have had one of the league’s worst offenses all season long. Right now they rank 29th in runs scored per game (3.46) and batting average (.240).
With Tuesday’s loss, the Cubs (56-77) fell to 5-3 since Mike Quade took over managerial duties. Chicago has won just three of its last 13 games at Wrigley Field.