Game Thread: Nova vs. Lester

The Pirates and Cubs are set to square off tonight at 7:05pm EDT in game one of the four game set.

The Bucs will be sending Ivan Nova to the hill to face Chicago’s John Lester. Lester has struggled as of late, winless in his last five starts. He earned the loss against Pittsburgh on July 31st while allowing four runs over five innings of work. Unfortunately, the Pirates have gone 5-8 in the 13 games following the deadline.

Speaking of roster moves, Kevin Newman and Jordan Luplow will be joining the team. Neither are in the starting lineup but the 2015 first round draft pick will have the chance to make his big league debut.

Here are the lineups:

CUBS

1. Javier Baez 2B
2. Jason Heyward RF
3. David Bote 3B
4. Anthony Rizzo 1B
5. Ian Happ LF
6. Albert Almora CF
7. Willson Contreras C
8. Jon Lester P
9. Addison Russell SS

PIRATES

1. Corey Dickerson LF
2. Starling Marte CF
3. Gregory Polanco RF
4. David Freese 3B
5. Elias Diaz C
6. Josh Bell 1B
7. Josh Harrison 2B
8. Adeiny Hechavarria SS
9. Ivan Nova P