PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES: Had the day off yesterday…Went 6-3 on their recently-completed homestand against the Cardinals (3-0), Athletics (1-2) and Mets (2-1)…Have had four separate winning streaks of at least four games this season, including a season-high seven-game winning streak from 4/17-23…Returned to first place following Friday’s win for the second time this month…Have a 1.0 game lead over the Brewers for first place in the National League Central.
HITTIN’ THE ROAD: Tonight the Pirates will begin a stretch that has the team playing 10 of their next 13 games on the road…In addition to these three games here at Wrigley, the Pirates will also bus to Milwaukee for a three-game series this weekend…The Bucs will then return to Pittsburgh for a three-game homestand against the Cubs from June 19-21 before returning to the road for a four-game series at Miami from June 22-25.
ANDREW 2K: Andrew McCutchen became the 291st player in big league history (according to the Elias Sports Bureau) to record at least 2,000 hits after singling in his first at-bat on Sunday off New York’s Carlos Carrasco…He also became the 11th player to record his 2,000th career hit while playing for the Pirates (not necessarily all 2,000 coming with the club, but with the team when the hit occurred according to the Elias Sports Bureau).
THE NEXT MILESTONE WITHIN REACH: Andrew McCutchen is just one double shy of 400 in his career (his next double will also be his 300th as a Pirate)…McCutchen ranks seventh all-time in Pirates history in doubles (Hall-of-Famer Pie Traynor is sixth with 371)…Each of the six Pirates with at least 300 doubles are in the Hall-of-Fame.
HOMETOWN HELLO: 2016 Willam H. Taft High School graduate Jack Suwinski has gone deep twice in his last three games, including his team-leading 13th of the season Sunday afternoon…Suwinski has hit three of the team’s longest home runs this season, highlighted by a 461-foot shot at Colorado on April 17…Suwinski’s 445-foot homer at Seattle on May 26 was the third-longest ball hit by a Pirate this year, while his 444-foot homer on April 29 was the fourth-longest.
CENTRAL PERK: The Pirates have won seven straight and 10 of their first 14 games overall against the National League Central…It’s Pittsburgh’s longest winning streak against its own division since taking nine straight games against the NL Central from July 12-31, 2018.
UNDER THE LIGHTS: This is the first of three straight games for the Pirates under the lights here at Wrigley Field…The Bucs are also scheduled to play three night games here from September 19-21, which would be the first time for the team to play six night games at Wrigley in a season…Pittsburgh’s first night game at the Friendly Confines came on June 26, 1989, when Doug Drabek tossed a complete game while winning a 2-1 decision against Greg Maddux.
ABOUT TONIGHT’S STARTER: Luis Ortiz will make his seventh appearance (sixth start) of the season tonight for the Pirates…Ortiz allowed two runs on 10 hits in 5.0 innings of relief in his last appearance Wednesday against the A’s…It was the longest outing by a Pirates reliever this season and since October 1, 2022, when Zach Thompson worked 5.1 innings out of the bullpen.
HEATING UP IN JUNE: Ke’Bryan Hayes comes into today leading all of MLB with a .486 average this month among players with at least 30 plate appearances (Oakland’s Jace Peterson is second with a .444 average)…Hayes’ 29 total bases this month are also the sixth-most in MLB behind Shohei Ohtani (39), Corbin Carroll (37), Nick Castellanos (31), Fernando Tatis Jr. (31) and Nolan Arenado (30).
GETTING ON: Andrew McCutchen has produced a .406 on-base percentage since May 14 when he batted leadoff for the first time this season (he has led off in 17 of those 23 games since)…Since May 14, McCutchen’s .406 OBP ranks eighth in the National League and 13th in MLB…McCutchen is also tied for the fourth-most walks (17) in the National League in that time…Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber leads the way with 27 since May 14.
STARTING PTICHER – 48 – RHP LUIS ORTIZ
2023 1-2 4.23 6 5 0 0 27.2 35 17 13 15 16
LUIS ORTIZ: The 24-year-old righthander will be making his seventh appearance (sixth start) of the season tonight…He allowed two runs on 10 hits in 5.0 innings in his first big league relief appearance on Wednesday against Oakland…He earned his first big league win in his start on 5/22 vs. Texas after allowing two runs in 7.2 innings of work…Entered 2023 as Pittsburgh’s No. 4 prospect by Baseball America.
vs. CHICAGO (NL): 0-1 in one start…He lost an 8-3 decision (4.2ip/1r) on 9/25/22 at PNC Park.
CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
Cubs vs. Pirates
The Cubs and Pirates play 13 games spanning four series this season … following this three-game set the teams meet next week at PNC Park for a three-game series … the Cubs have won the last eight season series against Pittsburgh dating to 2015, including a 10-9 mark in 2022.
HEY THERE, BEEN A WHILE: The Chicago Cubs tonight begin a six-game homestand with the first of three game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first meeting between the two N.L. Central division clubs this season … other than the delayed 60-game season in 2020, its the latest date the two teams meet for the first time in a season since the 1998 campaign when the clubs first met on July 3.
The Cubs and Pirates play six times in the next nine days through June 21 … this six-game homestand features three games against the Pirates then three against the Orioles before Chicago and Pittsburgh play three games at PNC Park starting June 19.
Chicago last season was 10-9 against the Pirates … after starting out 5-8 in the first 13 contests, the Cubs won five of the last six against Pittsburgh.
CURRENT EVENTS: The Cubs on Sunday finished a 10-game swing through San Diego (2-2), Anaheim (0-3) and San Francisco (2-1) with a 4-6 mark … the team’s series win at the Giants was the team’s first road series victory since sweeping the Athletics in Oakland April 17-19.
This is the 11th contest (4-6) in a stretch that began June 2 in which the Cubs play 15 of 21 games on the road … this stretch wraps up with the team’s two London Series against against St. Louis June 24-25 … eight of the 15 games are against division rivals — six against Pittsburgh (3 at home, 3 on the road) and the two games of the London Series.
After the game on April 21, Chicago was 12-7 and 1.5 games behind the division lead … since, the club is 16-30 and enters today 6.5 games behind the division-leading Pirates, sitting at 34-30.
DANSBY DOES DEFENSE: Dansby Swanson’s 2.3 WAR is second among National League shortstops and fourth in the majors, according to FanGraphs … Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco leads all shortstops with a 3.3 mark, followed by Toronto’s Bo Bichette (2.6) and San Francisco’s Thairo Estrada (2.4) … Swanson 162 assists rank third-most among shortstops and his nine defensive runs saved are second among all shortstops behind Franco (10).
Swanson has gone 48-consecutive games at shortstop since April 20 without committing an error (162 TC).
FAMILIAR ON THE BASEPATHS: Ian Happ has reached base safely in each of his last 31 games against the Pirates dating to April 10 of 2021 … he’s batted .348 (40-for-115) with 12 doubles, four homers, 18 RBI, 17 walks and a .993 OPS during the stretch.
Moreover, Happ has reached base safely in each of his last 40 starts against the Pirates dating to July 31, 2020.
STINGY IN VICTORY: The Cubs have allowed two or fewer runs in 21 of their last 22 victories dating to April 14 … the lone win in that span in which Chicago allowed more than two runs came in a 10-4 win vs. the Cardinals on May 10.
STARTING STUFF: Cubs starting pitchers have posted a 3.87 ERA (148 ER/344.1 IP) this season, the second-best mark among N.L. starting rotations and sixth-best in the majors … the rotation’s 1.19 WHIP ranks fifth among major league teams.
Cubs starting pitchers rank first and second among qualified starting pitchers in the N.L. in ERA, with Marcus Stroman pacing the pack with a 2.42 ERA and Justin Steele second with a 2.65 ERA.
Chicago has received 29 quality starts, second-most in the N.L. behind tonight’s opponent, Pittsburgh (30), and seventh-most in the majors.
Since May 29 (13 games), Chicago’s starters have pitched to a 2.92 ERA (24 ER/74.0 IP) with a 1.03 WHIP and .194 opponent average against, the second-best mark among starting rotations behind Philadelphia (.190).
Tonight marks the second time Jameson Taillon will pitch against his former club, having faced the Pirates last July 5 at PNC Park while with the Yankees … Taillon pitched four seasons with Pittsburgh (2016-19), going 29-24 with a 3.67 ERA in 82 starts.
OBP MAKES THE DIFFERENCE: Ian Happ’s 125-point difference between his .385 OBP and .260 average is fifth-most in the N.L. and sixth-most in the majors … Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber leads N.L. hitters with a .324 OBP compared to a .172 average, a 152-point difference.
SUNSHINE AND MERRYWEATHER IN THE FORECAST: Julian Merryweather since April 17 has pitched to a 1.25 ERA (3 ER/21.2 IP) with one win and allowed 16 hits and 10 walks with 33 strikeouts in 22 appearances … among all pitchers with at least 22 appearances in that span, he ranks third in ERA and fifth in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (13.29).
His current streak of eight-straight scoreless outings (7.2 IP) is a career high.
ONE-HIT WONDER: Kyle Hendricks on Saturday in San Francisco tossed 7.2 no-hit innings before Mitch Haniger doubled to left … Hendricks finished the game with 8.0 innings, allowing just two baserunners (Michael Conforto walk in the second and Haniger’s double in the eighth), with three strikeouts … his 7.2 frames of no-hit work was the longest no-hit bid by any pitcher in the majors this season.
Rookie Miguel Amaya, who caught Hendricks’ gem, was the first Cubs rookie in his debut season to catch a one-hitter since Steve Lake caught Chuck Rainey August 24, 1983. (h/t to Ed Hartig)
Starting Pitcher – #50 RHP Jameson Taillon (1-4, 7.02)
Last Time Out
Jameson suffered his fourth loss of the season June 7 in Anaheim … has completed at least 5.0 innings in back-to-back starts for the second time this season (also April 9-15) … walked at least four batters in a start for the fourth time in his career (last Aug. 2, 2022 vs. Seattle) … threw a season-high 104 pitches.
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
6/7 @LAA L, 2-6 5.1 5 4 4 4 5 104-61 2-2, 2 on
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 0-2 8.27 4 4 16.1 24 16 15 5 19
Road 1-2 6.23 6 6 26.0 26 20 18 10 21
AVG vs. LHB: .303 (23-for-76) / AVG vs. RHB: .276 (27-for-98)
Jameson will make his 11th start of the 2023 season today, his fifth at Wrigley Field … is facing his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, for the second time in his career … allowed five runs on six hits in 5.1 IP July 5, 2022 in Pittsburgh … made 82 starts for the Pirates from 2015-19, going 29-24 with a 3.67 ERA (190 ER/466.0 IP) … has walked 15, the sixth-lowest mark among N.L. starters (min. 10 GS) … has walked two or fewer in eight of his 10 starts this season … opposing hitters are batting .200 (5-for-25) with nine strikeouts against his curveball.
Earned his first win as a Cub June 2 in San Diego (1 ER/5.2 IP) … had previously gone eight-straight starts without a win, the third time in his career that he had failed to win in at least eight-straight starts in the same season (last 9 G, April 14-May 27, 2018).
Walked two or fewer batters in 16-straight starts from Aug. 14, 2022-May 9, 2023 … at the time, marked the fifth-longest active streak among major league starting pitchers.
Began his stint on the 15-day injured list April 20 (retroactive to April 17) with a left groin strain … was activated on May 4.
Went 2-0 with a 3.93 ERA (8 ER/18.1 IP) with 23 strikeouts, compared to no walks, during Spring Training … was the only pitcher in the Cactus League with at least 10.0 IP to not walk a batter.
