Pittsburgh @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 9, 2013 ) Pittsburgh 1, Chi. Cubs 4

The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off their first series loss in a month, but they'll look to get back on track when they visit the Chicago Cubs in a three-game set beginning Friday night. Pittsburgh owns the best record in the major leagues at 52-32 but remains in a tight battle with the St. Louis Cardinals for supremacy in the National League Central. The Pirates have won six of nine meetings with the Cubs this season, including taking two of three in Chicago last month.

The Cubs went 5-4 on their nine-game road trip and might not be too eager to return to Wrigley Field given their struggles against divisional opponents. Chicago is a dreadful 11-25 against the NL Central, the worst record in the majors by any team within its division. Despite dropping two of three games in Oakland, the Cubs concluded the road trip with superb pitching performances from Matt Garza and Travis Wood, who allowed one and zero runs, respectively.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), CSN (Chicago)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Francisco Liriano (7-3, 2.23 ERA) vs. Cubs RH Jeff Samardzija (5-7, 3.34)

Few pitchers can match the string of performances turned in last month by Liriano, who went 4-2 despite yielding a total of nine runs in six starts. Perhaps the best of those stellar outings came at the expense of the Cubs at Wrigley Field, when the 29-year-old Venezuelan allowed two hits over seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 victory. Liriano has limited opponents to one run or less in seven of 10 starts.

Samardzija has had trouble maintaining consistency from start to start, but that hasn't been the case vs. the Pirates. Although he is 1-2 in three starts against Pittsburgh this season, he allowed a combined one run on five hits over 15 innings in the first two outings. Samardjiza is 2-0 overall in his last four starts and yielded a pair of runs in seven innings while taking a no-decision last time out in Seattle.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pittsburgh and Boston own the best records in the majors. The last time both clubs topped their respective leagues on July 4 was in 1903, the year they met in the inaugural World Series.

2. Liriano is 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in three starts vs. Chicago.

3. Pirates LF Starling Marte, who is riding a nine-game hitting streak, is 2-for-12 lifetime against Samardzija.

PREDICTION: Pirates 4, Cubs 2