The Pittsburgh Pirates face an early measuring stick in welcoming the Chicago Cubs to PNC Park.
As the opening month of the 2016 Major League Baseball season has come and gone, the Pittsburgh Pirates find themselves in a good position. Despite yesterday’s 6-5 extra innings loss against Cincinnati at PNC Park, the Pirates have won eight of their last ten games and find themselves in second place in the National League Central Division. Atop the NL Central sits a team that arrives at PNC Park today to take on the Pirates in a three game series at PNC Park. The Cubs, who have a Major League best 17-6 record this season, sit three games ahead of the Pirates in the division. The Pirates find themselves in a pivotal early season series against the top team in baseball and this highly anticipated team matchup could provide some nice individual player matchups as well.
3.) Gerrit Cole vs Dexter Fowler
In game one of the series tonight, the Pirates will send out their ace, Gerrit Cole, to take on Jason Hammel of the Cubs. In his last three starts, Cole has been outstanding, pitching six strong innings in each.In those three starts, Cole is 2-1 and has given up four earned runs, while only walking two batters and striking out 15. With the importance of the series against a division rival, having your ace on the mound in game one is an ideal way to set the tone for the entire series, especially with Cole pitching like he is. This season, he is 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA, 19 strikeouts and six walks in four starts.
[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#000000″ class=”” size=”22″]The combination of Cole’s success against Fowler and Fowler’s early season success in 2016 make this a matchup to watch. It is a battle that can go either way as the Pirates and Cubs begin a three game set in Pittsburgh.[/pullquote]Since making his Major League debut in 2013, Cole has pitched more games against the Cubs (nine regular season starts) than any other team he has faced in his career. Cole has also had success against the Cubs, going 7-1 with a 2.88 ERA in those nine starts. He has also faced the Cubs in the postseason, picking up the loss in last year’s National League Wild Card Game.
When it comes to a matchup to watch, Cole has plenty of experiences against guys like Jason Heyward and Anthony Rizzo, who each have ten plus at-bats against the Pirates right hander. Rizzo in particular has had success against Cole, going 6-for-17 (.353) with one RBI, two walks and three strikeouts. Despite this being an intriguing matchup, another one to keep an eye on will be Cole versus Cubs Outfielder Dexter Fowler.
In his career against Cole, Fowler is 3-for-14 (.214) with one walk and four strikeouts. Despite his struggles against Cole, Fowler is having a terrific start to the season, making this matchup even more interesting. Fowler is a switch hitter so facing Cole tonight, he will be forced to hit from the left side of the plate, a side that he has had success hitting from. This season, Fowler is hitting .355 with three home runs, 12 RBI, 14 walks and 17 strikeouts against right handed pitchers. Fowler, who is hitting .350 this season with three home runs and 15 RBI, is also hitting better on the road than he is at home, compiling a .455 average with two home runs and eight RBI.
The combination of Cole’s success against Fowler and Fowler’s early season success in 2016 make this a matchup to watch. It is a battle that can go either way as the Pirates and Cubs begin a three game set in Pittsburgh.
2.) Andrew McCutchen vs Jake Arrieta
The second matchup on this list involves one of the best overall position players in the game versus one of the best pitchers in the game. Tomorrow night, Cubs ace Jake Arrieta takes the mound against the Pirates in game two of this three game series.
In his career against Arrieta, McCutchen is 8-for-23 (.348) with one RBI, three walks and seven strikeouts. To start the season, McCutchen has had his usual April struggles, hitting .226 with five home runs and 10 RBI in the opening month of the season. Despite these struggles, May could be a completely different story. McCutchen is a career .319 hitter in May with 24 home runs and 77 RBI.
This season, Arrieta has been as dominant as he was when he won the NL Cy Young award last season. In his first five starts to begin the year, the 30-year old is 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA, 10 walks and 32 strikeouts in 36 innings.
It will be interesting to see who comes out on top when these two star players meet tomorrow night. Both McCutchen and Arrieta are two of the biggest stars in all of baseball and Tuesday will be a huge opportunity to showcase these two stars as they look to battle yet again in one of the most highly anticipated matchups of this series.
1.) Sean Rodriguez vs Jon Lester
On Wednesday afternoon, Cubs left hander Jon Lester takes the mound against Juan Nicasio of the Pirates. Lester, a former Boston Red Sox star, spent most of his career in the American League and is only making his fifth career start against the Pirates, compiling a 2-2 record with a 1.86 ERA in his previous four starts against the Bucs. If there is anyone within the Pirates lineup or on their bench who has experience facing Lester, it is Pirates super utility man Sean Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, who has been a pleasant surprise of the bench for the Pirates this season, is 8-for-35 (.229) with three doubles, one home run, five RBI, four walks and 14 strikeouts in his career against Lester. Throughout his career, Rodriguez has been highly touted for his stellar defensive skills at most positions around the diamond. However, in the opening month of the 2016 season, Rodriguez has been phenomenal at the plate, hitting .314 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 35 at-bats. Compare this to the four home runs and 17 RBI that he had in 224 at-bats last season and it tells you exactly how good he has been off the bench this year.
Lester has also began the season on a high note, having five consecutive quality starts to begin the season for the first time in his Major League career. In five starts to begin the season, Lester is 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA, seven walks and 33 strikeouts in 34.1 innings. On any other team, Lester would be the undisputed ace of the pitching staff. However, with Arrieta serving as the obvious ace, Lester serves as a very solid number two starter for the Cubs.
Due to Lester playing nine seasons in the American League, not a lot of the Pirates players have a ton of experience hitting against the 32-year old left hander. Rodriguez, who spent seven seasons in the American League with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Tampa Bay Rays, is bound to be in the lineup, especially against a lefty and with John Jaso expected out of the lineup.
It is hard to say whether Rodriguez is for sure going to be in the lineup on Wednesday afternoon, but there is a decent chance. If his name is written into the starting lineup, be sure to keep an eye on his at-bats against a familiar foe.
Photo Credit – Daniel Decker Photography
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