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Paul Skenes impending debut headlines Pittsburgh Pirates series against rival Chicago Cubs
The Pittsburgh Pirates will welcome their rival Chicago Cubs to town this weekend and the weekend series has added excitement as Paul Skenes is expected to make his Major League debut.
After dropping two of three games against the Los Angeles Angels earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Pirates will host the rival Chicago Cubs for a three-game series at PNC Park.
Of course, the big news heading into this weekend is that Pirates top prospect and one of the organization's best prospects over the last few decades, right-hander Paul Skenes is scheduled to make his Major League debut on Saturday. We'll have more on Skenes below.
The Cubs enter the weekend with a 22-16 record, sitting in second place in the National League Central only behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs have been led this season by strong pitching, posting the sixth best team ERA in the National League at 3.75. Their offense has been slightly above average in the National League, hitting just .233/.314/.387 as a team, with 174 total runs scored, an average of 4.5 runs per game.
The Cubs enter this weekend's series after dropping two games in a three game series at Wrigley Field against the San Diego Padres including being shut out on Wednesday by Padres ace Dylan Cease in a 3-0 loss. This weekend's series will be the start of a quick six-game road trip for the Cubs as they'll head to Atlanta following their stay in Pittsburgh.
This will be just the second series this season that the Cubs have played against an NL Central team.
The Pirates enter this weekend with a 17-21 overall record and have dropped each of their last two after winning three straight last Saturday through Monday. This will also be their second series against an NL Central opponent, splitting a four-game series with the Brewers last month.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY: Javier Assad (RHP) vs Jared Jones (RHP)
Jared Jones will look to continue the tremendous start to his career by looking to follow up a 10-strikeout performance against the Colorado Rockies last week which included allowing just one hit over seven shutout innings.
Assad has been very good for the Pirates this season through seven starts, allowing just seven earned runs in 38 innings Last time out he threw six shutout innings against the Brewers in a 5-0 win for the Cubs.
SATURDAY: Paul Skenes (RHP) vs Justin Steele (LHP)
After allowing just three earned runs in seven starts at AAA Indianapolis, Skenes is scheduled to make his Major League debut on Saturday. Don't expect Skenes to go too long into the game, he averaged just around four innings per start in the minors and didn't throw more than 75 pitches in any start.
Steele is set to make his third start of the season on Saturday. After suffering an injury in the Cubs' season opener against Texas, Steele returned last weekend, pitching four and two-thirds against the Padres, allowing no runs and just four base runners on three hits and one walk.
SUNDAY: TBD vs TBD
Both teams have question marks for Sunday when it comes to who will start.
THE CUBS AT THE PLATE
2B Nico Hoerner
Hoerner has been good so far for the Cubs, slashing .373/.348/.385 with one home run and 10 RBI. He also has 11 doubles on the season and has walked 13 times with just 15 strikeouts in the process.
RF Mike Tauchman
Tauchman is the Cubs' OPS+ leader with a 138+ OPS+. This season, the 33-year-old right fielder is hitting .269/.402/.433 with three home runs and eight doubles while driving in 10. He has 21 walks to 23 strikeouts this season.
1B Michael Busch
The Cubs starting third baseman has been an extra base machine this season with six doubles and seven home runs while driving in 19 runs this season. He's hitting .256/.309/.488 this season. However, he is striking out a ton with 48 strikeouts in 125 at-bats.
CF Cody Bellinger
Bellinger recently returned from injury and is still looking to get going. He's hitting .239/.324/.467 this season with six home runs and 18 RBI. It's been a good start for Bellinger but far from the numbers he was posting last season which included a slash of .307/.356/.525.
3B Christopher Morel
Morel is off to a solid start in the home run and RBI category with eight home runs and 24 RBI but has struggled at the plate overall with a .211 batting average and .301 on-base percentage. That being said, he is walking more than ever before this season with 18 walks, halfway to his season total from last season in just 34% of the games.