Series Preview: Pirates at Cubs

The Cubs are off to a 2-7 start; don’t you hate to see that? A real shame.

Chicago dropped six in a row before getting a 14-8 win on Saturday at Milwaukee. The Brewers then took the series finale, 4-2, on Sunday.

The Cubs have been scoring runs. They put up 12 in their first win and have twice scored 10 in losing efforts. Willson Contreras (.389/.560/.833, 3 HR), Jason Heyward (.370/.419/.704, 3 HR), Daniel Descalso (.400/.478/.600), Anthony Rizzo (.267/.436/.500) and Javier Baez (.250/.289/.583, 4 HR) are all doing just fine early on.

The pitching ledger shows a bunch of rough ERAs, including those of Yu Darvish (8.10) and Jose Quintana (10.29). The other starter going this series, Jon Lester, has been solid with 10 strikeouts, five walks and a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings.

Carl Edwards Jr. gave up six runs in 1 2-3 innings over four appearances and got sent to Triple-A.

Schedule

Monday, 2:20 p.m. — Jameson Taillon (0-1, 3.46 ERA) vs. Jon Lester (1-0, 3.00); TV: AT&T SportsNet, MLB Network (out of market)

Wednesday, 8:05 p.m. — Jordan Lyles (0-0, 0.00) vs. Yu Darvish (0-1, 8.10); TV: AT&T SportsNet

Thursday, 8:05 p.m. — Joe Musgrove (1-0, 0.00) vs. Jose Quintana (0-1, 10.29); TV: AT&T SportsNet, MLB Network (out of market)