Pirates Preview: Paul Skenes Looking to Avoid Sweep
Little has gone right for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first two games of their three-game series against the Chicago Cubs after getting outscored 27-13.
Fortunately for the Pirates, they'll have their budding ace on the mound on Wednesday to help them avoid the sweep. Paul Skenes will toe the slab for the Pirates on Wednesday in the series finale against Chicago.
Skenes, 22, made the first two starts of his MLB career against the Cubs. After he pitched just four innings, allowed three runs, six hits, two walks and struck out seven batters on May 11, Skenes arguably turned in the best outing of his young career six days later. The flamethrowing rookie right-hander pitched six no-hit innings, walked one batter and had 11 strikeouts.
After going over a month without a win, Skenes has rebounded to win back-to-back starts and was especially impressive in his last outing, pitching six innings, allowing two hits and striking out nine batters. The 6-foot-6 righty is 8-2 with a 2.16 ERA and has struck out 130 batters in 104 innings pitched over 17 starts.
The Cubs will counter with Kyle Hendricks, who is having a year to forget to put it mildly. Across 23 appearances, including 18 starts, Hendricks is 3-10 with a 6.33 ERA.
In his last outing against the Pirates on May 11, Hendricks allowed seven earned runs and 11 hits over 4.2 innings.
Pirates vs. Cubs Broadcast Info
Location: PNC Park
Records: Pirates (62-70), Cubs (67-66)
First pitch: 12:35 p.m. ET
TV: Pirates - SportsNet-PIT — Cubs - Marquee Sports Network — National - MLBN (out-of-market only)
Radio: Pirates - 100.1 FM/KDKA-AM 1020 — Cubs - 670 The Score, WRTO 1200
Pirates vs. Cubs Betting Odds via SI Sportsbook
Spread: Pirates -1.5 (+125), Cubs +1.5 (-154)
Total: Over 7.5 (-125), under 7.5 (+100)
Moneyline: Pirates -167, Cubs +135
NATHANIEL MARRERO