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Pirates vs Cubs — 5/9/21

By Patricia Beninato
MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs
Well, this kind of sums things up as of late.
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh Pirates (13-19) vs. Chicago Cubs (17-16) - Saturday, May 9 @ 2:20 p.m.

Stadium: Wrigley Field, Chicago IL.

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Radio: 93.7 The Fan

SB Nation Cubs site: Bleed Cubbie Blue

Starting Pitchers

Pirates: Tyler Anderson - LHP - (2-3) – 3.24 ERA - 31 total Ks

Cubs: Kyle Hendricks - RHP - (2-3) – 6.07 ERA – 27 total Ks

Probable Starting Lineups (subject to last-minute changes)

Pirates

  1. Adam Frazier (2B)
  2. Kevin Newman (SS)
  3. Ka’ai Tom (LF)
  4. Jacob Stallings (C)
  5. Erik Gonzalez (3B)
  6. Wilmer Difo (CF)
  7. Todd Frazier (1B)
  8. Troy Stokes Jr. (RF)
  9. Tyler Anderson (LHF)

Cubs

  1. Matt Duffy (3B)
  2. Willson Contreras (C)
  3. Anthony Rizzo (1B)
  4. Kris Bryant (LF)
  5. David Bote (2B)
  6. Jason Heyward (RF)
  7. Jake Marisnick (CF)
  8. Ildemaro Vargas (SS)
  9. Kyle Hendricks (RHP)

————————————————————————————————————————————————

The Pirates hope to salvage a win as they face the Cubs for the final game of this weekend series at Wrigley Field this afternoon.

They’ll have to try to do so, at least for now, without Colin Moran, who exited yesterday’s game with a left groin pull. Judging by Redbeard’s pained grimace and apparent inability to put weight on his left leg as he left the field, this goes beyond a tweak. With an already struggling offense, losing Moran’s strong bat, even if it’s temporary, adds to the Bucs’ woes.

Although I’d greatly hesitate to say things like “lights out,” the Pirates’ pitching is keeping them in games, even if they’re not winning. Today’s starters, Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks, have identical 2-3 win/loss records, but Hendricks’s ERA is almost double that of Anderson’s. Wil Crowe only had one bad inning yesterday (and it wasn’t even really that bad), but that was all it took. It seems that when the Bucs move forward on defense, they regress on offense and vice versa. They leave way too many guys on base, and much like Smalls, it’s killing them.

I’ll end my editorializing here. I’ve missed BD, but I had to take a bit of time off to take care of stuff, including my second vaccine shot, which knocked me flat (yay for being female and getting the Pfizer shot). But I’m back, the game thread is open, and the GIFs are at the ready. LET’S GO BUCS!!

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