The Pirates try and even the series against the Cubs

steemsports (80)in #steemsports • 6 years ago

SteemSports Presenter:@scottybuckets

SteemSports Editor:@theprophet0

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs continue their National League Central Division Series on Saturday in Chicago. First pitch is scheduled for 1:20pm Central Standard Time and the game can be seen on National Television on WLS or on the Direct TV MLB Extra Innings Package. It will take place at Wrigley Field. The Cubs are big favorites at -167 and the over/under is 8 runs. There is rain in the forecast so a delay or two may be possible throughout the afternoon. The Cubs are up 1-0 in the 3 game series so far.

It was a brilliant pitching performance by Chicago Cubs starter Mike Montgomery on Friday that helped get them the 3-1 win. In Montgomery’s third start of the season he went 6 innings and only gave up 1 earned run. He has now had quality starts in every time out and is looking like one of the bright surprises for the Cubs rotation.

Kris Bryant continues to heat up for the Cubs and had 3 hits on the day. He is now batting over .300 which is a great sign for the offense. Jason Heyward also reached base multiple times.

Today, the Cubs will give their ace, Jon Lester, the ball. He is 6-2 so far on the season and has an ERA of 2.44.

The Pirates got off to one of the hottest starts this season and were in first place for several weeks. But they now find themselves in fourth place and are 7 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers and 6.5 games back of the Cubs. They have lost 7 of their last 10 games and are desperate for a win today.

Nick Kingham will head to the mound for the Pirates. He is 2-2 so far on the season with an ERA of 4.03. Kingham has an impressive 30 strike outs to only 5 walks and his WHIP is one of the best in the MLB at 1.00.

The Pirates will need to give Kingham some run support today if they want to get back on the winning track. They will have a hard time though against Lester who loves to pitch in front of the home crowd at Wrigley.

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