Chicago @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 15, 2019 ) Pittsburgh 6, Chi. Cubs 16

The Chicago Cubs have nearly played themselves out of playoff contention with an incredibly frustrating losing streak and have almost no margin for error entering the final road trip of the season. The do-or-die excursion begins with the first of three games at the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Chicago has dropped six in a row - five straight by one run - after suffering through a four-game home sweep at the hands of the rival St. Louis Cardinals. "If you just play back the tape it's almost unbelievable that it turned out this way," Cubs manager Joe Maddon told the media after Sunday's 3-2 loss left his team four games out of a wild-card spot in the National League. Chicago carries a 31-44 road record into the season-ending trip but it has won 11 of 16 matchups overall with the last-place Pirates. Kyle Hendricks has had his own share of struggles on the road for Chicago and he'll try to reverse that trend Tuesday when he opposes rookie Mitch Keller.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Kyle Hendricks (11-9, 3.37 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Mitch Keller (1-5, 7.74)

Hendricks defeated the Pirates two turns ago with six innings of one-run ball and had a no-decision in an August matchup in which he allowed one run in seven frames. He is coming off an uneven outing versus St. Louis on Thursday, when he gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings. The 29-year-old, who is 5-7 with a 4.94 ERA in 15 road starts this season, has a 2.98 ERA in 16 career starts against Pittsburgh.

Keller has dropped four decisions in a row, although he gave up only two runs in five innings with seven strikeouts in a loss to Seattle his last time out. He was pounded for six runs in 4 1/3 frames in his one previous matchup with the Cubs, serving up home runs to Nicholas Castellanos and Jason Heyward. The Iowa native is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA at home while recording 30 strikeouts in 22 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cubs SS Javier Baez (thumb) could return to the field Tuesday after being limited to pinch-hitting and pinch-running duties over the weekend.

2. Castellanos homered and scored twice in Sunday's loss and is hitting .335 with 16 home runs in 49 games with Chicago.

3. Pittsburgh has matched its season high with nine straight losses. It has not lost 10 in a row since 2011.

PREDICTION: Cubs 6, Pirates 3