Paul Skenes is scheduled to pitch later in the series, so the Cubs face other starters in the next three days. Those matchups include Carmen Mlodzinski, Braxton Ashcraft, and Bubba Chandler, with Ashcraft not presenting an easy challenge. Skenes has had a few rough outings, but his overall recent performance remains dominant, including strong strikeout and run-prevention numbers. The Cubs pitching situation is unstable, with Edward Cabrera sidelined by a blister and Jordan Wicks returning after injuries. Ben Brown is trending upward, recording outs via strikeout or groundout in his last start. The Pirates offense is above average, led by Brandon Lowe, Spencer Horwitz, and Ryan O'Hearn.
"Yes, Paul Skenes is pitching in this series, but not until Thursday. So if the Cubs offense is going to wake up, it'll probably have to be against one of the other guys over the next three days: Carmen Mlodzinski, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler."
"With that said, Skenes did actually just have two of his worst starts ever back-to-back against the Phillies (5 ER in 5.0 IP) and Blue Jays (4 ER in 5.0 IP). And when you include his 0.2 IP dud on Opening Day against the Mets, his bottom line is actually sitting at a surprisingly human 3.00 ERA."
"It's Paul Skenes. He's one of the two or three greatest pitchers on the planet. And in the eight starts between Opening Day and this most recent stretch, he struck out 55 batters over 49.1 IP with a 1.09 ERA."
"Offensively, the Pirates are a little better than average overall (103 wRC+), with a few standout performers: Brandon Lowe: 149 wRC+, 13 HRs; Spencer Horwitz: 133 wRC+, 5 HRs; Ryan O'Hearn: 132 wRC+, 7 HRs."
Read at Bleacher Nation
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