Pirates bring 1-0 series lead over Cubs into game 2

Audio By Carbonatix

Pittsburgh Pirates (52-71, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (68-53, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Saturday, 2:20 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Mike Burrows (1-4, 4.66 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 69 strikeouts); Cubs: Shota Imanaga (8-5, 3.19 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 79 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cubs -230, Pirates +188; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates take a 1-0 advantage into the next game of the series against the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago is 68-53 overall and 36-23 at home. The Cubs have a 30-10 record in games when they did not allow a home run.

Pittsburgh is 18-42 in road games and 52-71 overall. The Pirates are 36-21 in games when they did not give up a home run.

The teams meet Saturday for the ninth time this season. The Cubs lead the season series 5-3.

TOP PERFORMERS: Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the Cubs with 27 home runs while slugging .523. Dansby Swanson is 11 for 37 with a double, two home runs and three RBIs over the last 10 games.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa has a .269 batting average to lead the Pirates, and has 17 doubles, two triples and a home run. Bryan Reynolds is 13 for 39 with three home runs and nine RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 3-7, .208 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored by one run

Pirates: 3-7, .228 batting average, 6.31 ERA, outscored by 34 runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Miguel Amaya: 10-Day IL (ankle), Mike Soroka: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jameson Taillon: 15-Day IL (calf), Eli Morgan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Pirates: Oneil Cruz: 7-Day IL (concussion), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.