Cubs at Pirates
The Chicago Cubs – and especially star first baseman Anthony Rizzo – aren’t making any friends during their three-game road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Rizzo and the Cubs will try to wrap up a sweep of the slumping Pirates when the series concludes Wednesday.
A day after angering the Pirates and their fans by making contact with catcher Elias Diaz on a controversial slide to break up a double play, Rizzo homered to set off a three-run seventh inning in Chicago’s 8-6 win Tuesday. Although Rizzo was ruled safe on the slide and the call was upheld after a replay review, Major League Baseball said Tuesday that the slide was not legal and Rizzo should have been called out. The three-time All-Star first baseman was booed in each of his at-bats Wednesday, but he went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run to help send Pittsburgh to its fourth straight loss and its ninth in 11 games. The Cubs have won three straight overall and four in a row on the road.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Kyle Hendricks (4-3, 3.16 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Joe Musgrove (1-0, 0.00)
Hendricks has posted quality starts in five of his last six outings and seven of his 10 starts this season. The 28-year-old was dominant last time out, striking out seven and allowing only two hits, including a solo homer, over seven innings to beat San Francisco. Hendricks is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 11 starts against the Pirates, including a 2-0 mark and a 3.00 ERA in five outings at PNC Park.
Musgrove was outstanding in his first big-league start of the season Friday against St. Louis, striking out seven and allowing five hits over seven scoreless innings. The 25-year-old bounced between the bullpen and the rotation with Houston the past two seasons but had more success as a reliever. He is 9-12 with a 5.11 ERA in 26 career starts, including a loss to the Cubs in 2016.
WALK-OFFS
1. Rizzo is 15-for-42 with two homers and 14 RBIs during an 11-game hitting streak.
2. Pittsburgh RF Gregory Polanco has been out of the lineup the past two games while he is mired in an 0-for-16 slump, but he should be back Wednesday, as he is 10-for-25 with two homers versus Hendricks.
3. Pirates C Francisco Cervelli (illness) missed his third straight start Tuesday.