The Pirates take on the Cubs today at Wrigley Field for the Cubs’ home opener. We’ve been doing live discussions for the home games so far this year, with Alan Saunders and Matt Gajtka reporting live from PNC Park.
We don’t do road coverage, at least not at this stage in the season. Our focus is less on daily game coverage, and more on features, analysis, and columns. That focus leads to quality articles such as the one today from Alan:
http://18.206.184.11/2018/04/how-technology-has-changed-the-way-pitchers-learn-their-craft.html
Even though we don’t have anyone at the game, we’ll still be following along with our live discussion. Feel free to join in! I’ll be chatting in the comments while working on a few articles for this week, including my column later today about a scenario where Mitch Keller could arrive in Pittsburgh this year.
The First Test
The Pirates have opened up the season with a 7-2 record, beating up on the Tigers, Twins, and Reds. Those teams weren’t projected to be good this year, with the best of the group being the Twins, projected at .500 by Fangraphs, and the Reds and Tigers each projected for 69 wins.
The Cubs will be the first test for the Pirates this year. They’re projected for 92 wins and the NL Central title, and if the Pirates want a shot at even competing for the Wild Card, they will need to hold their own against the Cubs.
The Pirates rank at the top of the leaderboards in a lot of offensive categories. They’re first in the NL in wOBA and wRC+, while having the second best offensive WAR and the second most runs, trailing the Braves in each category.
Their starting pitching ranks fourth in ERA, sixth in WAR, and eighth in xFIP. Their bullpen ranks 14th out of 15 in ERA and xFIP, and 12th in WAR.
How much will the offense hold up? Will the rotation remain above-average? Will they avoid bullpen meltdowns? The answers to these questions will largely determine the upcoming games against the Cubs.
PIRATES LINEUP
Here is today’s lineup…
Here's our lineup for today, presented by Honda.#LetsGoBucs
CUBS LINEUP
Here’s the lineup for the Cubs, who just placed Anthony Rizzo on the disabled list with a back injury…
CF Ian Happ
3B Kris Bryant
1B Ben Zobrist
C Willson Contreras
LF Kyle Schwarber
SS Addison Russell
RF Jayson Heyward
2B Javier Baez
SP Tyler ChatwoodJOIN US
Fire away in the comments section with what you’ve got. I’ll be watching along, and will join in on the comments.
