It’s a clash of NL Central opponents on the diamond as they finish off a series up in the Steel City. The Chicago Cubs are on the road as they make the trip for the final game of a four-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday afternoon. In the opening game of the series Thursday night, the Cubs held on for a 3-2 victory to draw first blood in the set and followed that up with a 6-5 victory on Friday night. Will Chicago keep the Pirates off their game and come up with another road victory or can the Bucs find a way to prevail at home? This article was published prior to the conclusion of the third game of the series at PNC Park Saturday evening.
Chicago survived a back-and-forth affair Friday night as they took the lead for good in the eighth inning en route to a fourth straight road win. The Cubs entered Saturday third in the NL Central, 22.5 games behind the Cardinals for the division lead. They have been knocked out of playoff contention. On Thursday night, Chicago got two hits each from Esteban Quiroz (two RBI) and P.J. Higgins (run) in the game while Patrick Wisdom cranked his 24th homer of the season. Javier Assad didn’t factor in the decision as he threw four innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Manuel Rodriguez (2-0) earned the win as he allowed one run on one hit with one walk and one strikeout over two innings of work. Erich Uelmen managed to earn his first save despite loading the bases on one hit and a pair of walks as he struck out Cal Mitchell to end the game.
Adrian Sampson is on the mound for his 19th appearance and 17th start of the season for the Cubs here. He comes in 2-5 with a 3.35 ERA, a 1.286 WHIP, 24 walks and 61 strikeouts over 88.2 innings of work on the year. Sampson didn’t factor in the decision in his last start, which came Tuesday on the road against the Marlins. He threw six innings, allowing one run on eight hits with one walk and three strikeouts in a 2-1 Cubs triumph. In his last three starts, Sampson is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, five walks and seven strikeouts over 18 innings of work. Sampson makes his fifth career appearance and fourth start against the Pirates here. He is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, three walks and 14 strikeouts over 21 innings of work. Sampson lost his lone career appearance at PNC Park, which came with the Rangers on May 7, 2019. In that contest, he threw five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a 5-4 Texa s loss.