PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES: allowed a season-high tying 14 runs in the opening game of their three-game series last night against the Cubs …Have gone 12-8 since 8/28, which is the fourth-best record in the National League in that time behind the Dodgers, Marlins and Padres (13-8 apiece)…Won five straight games from 8/28 to 9/2, their third-longest winning streak of the season (the team won a season-high seven straight games from 4/17-23)…Have won four games this season when trailing after eight innings (won three games when trailing after eight last season)…Have gone 29-27 in their last 56 games since losing each of their first five games following the All-Star break.
K IS KELLER: Mitch Keller comes into today ranked sixth in the National League and 10th in all of MLB with a career-high 198 strikeouts…Tonight Keller will look to become just the third Pirates right-handed pitcher in club history to achieve 200 strikeouts in a season…The only other righties to accomplish that were A.J. Burnett (209 in 2013 when he ranked 10th in MLB in that department) and Gerrit Cole (202 in 2015).
ABOUT TONIGHT’S STARTER: Righthander Mitch Keller will make his 31st start of the season tonight, which are his most in a single season…Keller has thrown a career-high 182.2 innings this season, which ranks 10th in all of MLB…Keller’s 12 wins are tied for the seventh-most in the National League…Trevor Williams and Jameson Taillon are the last two Pirates to win more than 12 games with 14 apiece in 2018.
WORKING SIX: The Pirates have won each of their last 11 games when their starting pitcher tosses at least 6.0 innings…The Bucs are also 15-5 this season in games when Mitch Keller works at least 6.0 innings.
THE PIRATES PIPELINE: Last night Kyle Nicolas became the 14th player to make his big league debut this season with the Pirates …The Reds are the only team in MLB to have more players make their debuts (16) this season…The Pirates currently have the No. 2 rated farm system in all of MLB (the Orioles are first) after entering the season ranked eighth…Specials thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau.
58 BUCS: Kyle Nicolas became the 58th player to appear in a game this season for the Pirates after making his debut Tuesday night… That’s tied for the fourth-most players used in MLB along with the Mets and Dodgers…The only three team to use more players this season are the Reds (65), Angels (64) and Athletics (61).
HOMETOWN HELLO: Pirates lefthander Ryan Borucki is a 2012 graduate of Mundelein (IL) High School, which is located 35 miles from Wrigley Field…During his senior year, Borucki was rated by Perfect Game as the No. 1 prospect in the state of Illinois…Ryan’s dad, Raymond, who played baseball professionally and made it as high as the Triple-A level with the Phillies, is now a coach at Mundelein High School.
THE BOOK ON BORUCKI: The Pirates signed Ryan Borucki as a minor league free agent on May 9 after he began this season as a member of the Cubs organization…Since the All-Star break, the 29-year lefthander has posted a 3-0 record, 1.93 ERA (28.0ip/6er) and .167 batting average against in 24 appearances (two starts) with the Pirates.
SOUTHPAW SIGHTING: Tonight will be the 50th time this season the Pirates are opposed by a starting lefty (the Bucs are 23-26 in games started by opposing lefties)…The only three teams in MLB to face more starting lefthanders this season are the Guardians (55), Nationals (53) and Orioles (51)…Since the All-Star break, Liover Peguero is hitting at a .340 clip (18-for-53) against lefties, which ranks 10th in the National League.
STARTING PITCHER – 23 – RHP MITCH KELLER
MITCH KELLER: The 27-year-old righthander will make his 31st start of the season tonight…He scattered two hits and struck out seven batters over 8.0 innings while winning a 2-0 decision in his last start Thursday against the Nationals.
VS. CHICAGO (NL):3-4 with a 4.24 ERA (46.2ip/22er) in 10 career appearances (nine starts)…1-0 in one start this year after winning a 2-1 decision (8.0ip/0r) on 8/25…Went 1-1 in two appearances last year after allowing one run in 2.2 innings while earning the win in his first career appearance out of the bullpen…He also started and lost a 3-2 decision (6.0ip/2er) at Wrigley Field on 9/22/22.
CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
Cubs vs. Pirates
The Cubs and Pirates play 13 games spanning four series this season …Chicago swept Pittsburgh in two-straight three-game series, June 13- 15 at Wrigley Field and June 19-21 at PNC Park, before winning three of four in Pittsburgh Aug. 24-27 … the Cubs have won the last eight season series against Pittsburgh dating to 2015, including a 10-9 mark in 2022.
SWEET HOME, WRIGLEY FIELD: The Chicago Cubs today play game two of a six-game homestand against the Pirates (1-0) and the Rockies (three games starting Friday) … Chicago yesterday snapped a season-high-tying five-game skid, topping the Pirates 14-1 … Javier Assad recorded a career-high eight strikeouts en route to his fourth win of the season, tossing 5.0 one-run innings … Seiya Suzuki went 3-for-4, tallying his third home run and seventh RBI in the last six games … Jared Young recorded his first career pinch hit, a triple in the eighth inning – three of Young’s seven hits this season have been three-baggers. Through 11 games against Pittburgh in 2023, the Cubs have outscored the Pirates 88-28, a run-differential of +5.5 runs per game … the last time the Cubs averaged at least +5.0 run-differential against one team (min. 10 G) was in 1890 over Pittsburgh, outscoring them 181-81 over 20 games. (credit: Ed Hartig). Chicago is 12-4-2 in its last 18 series dating to July 17. The Cubs are 23-18 in their last 41 games and 38-21 in their last 59 games since July 18 … following play on July 20, the Cubs sat 7.0-games out of a wildcard spot and 8.5-games back of the division lead. 15,000: The Cubs last night hit the 15,000th home run in Chicago franchise history … it came on a Cody Bellinger 438-foot blast in the eighth inning after Dansby Swanson, Seiya Suzuki and Alexander Canario also homered in the game … Chicago is the third franchise to reach the milestone, joining the New York Yankees and the San Francisco
Giants.
THAT SCORES A ’10’: The Cubs last night beat the Pirates 14-1, scoring at least 10 runs in a game for the 23rd time this season, the most in he N.L. and second-most in the majors … it is the fourth time in franchise history (since 1901) the team has plated 10 or more runs at least 23 times in a season and the first time since 1935 (24 times) (also 1930, 28, and 1929, 34). The Cubs have scored 10-plus runs against the Pirates five times this season, marking the fifth time since 2000 the Cubs recorded at least five 10-run games against one team in a season … they also did so six times against Pittsburgh in both 2019 and 2008, five times against Cincinnati in 2004 and five times against Houston in 2000. (thanks to Ed Hartig for this information!).
65-PLUS: Nico Hoerner last night tallied his 65th RBI of the season, the sixth Cub to reach the mark this season joining Cody Bellinger (94), Dansby Swanson (76), Ian Happ (73), Christopher Morel (67) and Seiya Suzuki (66) … the previous time the Cubs had six players with at least 65 RBI was 2004 (Moises Alou, Michael Barrett, Derrek Lee, Corey Patterson, Aramis Ramírez and Sammy Sosa). Chicago ranks tied for second in the majors this season with six players with 65-plus RBI (Atlanta leads with seven).
A RESURGENT SEIYA: Seiya Suzuki in his last 31 games since Aug. 18 is hitting .362 (42-for-116) with a .420 on-base percentage and a .707 slugging mark … in that span, his 22 extra-base hits pace the majors, his 12 doubles are tied for the major league lead, his .362 average and 1.127 OPS are second, his 42 hits are tied for third and his 82 total bases are fifth. Suzuki’s 53 extra-base hits this season are the most by a Japanese-born Cub since Kosuke Fukudome had 54 in 2009. Since the start of September, Seiya has reached base safely in 17 of 18 games, including hits in 15 of those games.
MERRYWEATHER MERRIMENT: Julian Merryweather has allowed just one run in his last 11 appearances since Aug. 20 (12.2 IP, 0.71 ERA), allowing two hits and striking out 17 batters, compared to four walks, with a 0.47 WHIP … among pitchers with at least 12.0 innings pitched in that span, his WHIP and opponent average (.054) rank first and his ERA is sixth (third among N.L. arms). Merryweather has held opponents scoreless in 18 of his last 22 outings since July 22 (4 ER/25.1 IP, 1.42 ERA) and not allowed multiple runs in a game since July 19.
NICO REACHES 13: Nico Hoerner enters today with a career-high 13-game hitting streak in which he’s batting .370 (20-for-54) with a double, 10 runs and five stolen bases since Sept. 5 … his 13-game streak is the second longest in the majors behind the Angels’ Luis Rengifo’s 14-game streak.
FUN WITH NUMBERS: Ian Happ’s 94 free passes rank fourth in the majors and are the most by a Cub since Kris Bryant drew 95 walks in 2017 — the last Cub to reach 100 walks in a campaign is Carlos Peña, who had 101 in 2011. Cody Bellinger yesterday collected his 92nd, 93rd and 94th RBI … those are the most by a Cub since Anthony Rizzo (94) in 2019. Julian Merryweather’s 91 strikeouts are the most for a Cubs reliever since Carl Edwards Jr. recorded 94 punchouts in 2017.
Starting Pitcher – #35 LHP Justin Steele (16-4, 2.73)
Last Time Out
Justin on Sept. 15 in Arizona suffered his first loss in 10 starts since July 16 … allowed a season-high-tying six runs … has completed at least 6.0 innings in six-straight starts since Aug. 19 … surrendered two home runs in an outing for the third time this season (last July 16 vs. Boston).
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
9/15 @ARI L, 4-6 6.0 7 6 6 2 5 83-53 0-6
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 12-2 2.18 17 17 99.0 92 33 24 21 99
Road 4-2 3.55 11 11 66.0 61 29 26 14 65
AVG vs. LHB: .254 (31-for-122) / AVG vs. RHB: .241 (122-for-506)
Justin is scheduled to make his 29th start of the 2023 season today, his 18th at Wrigley Field and second vs. Pittsburgh … his 2.18 ERA at home this season leads the majors, while his 12 home wins are tied for the most … has allowed three runs or fewer in 13 of his 17 home starts in 2023 … since July 22, 2022, is second in the majors with a 2.41 ERA (54 ER/201.2 IP) … his 17 starts of 6.0-plus IP while allowing two or fewer earned runs are tied for the most in the N.L. … his 2.73 ERA ranks second in the majors, while his 16 wins are tied for the second-most. Recorded a career-high seven-straight wins in 10-straight unbeaten starts from July 21-Sept. 9. Had a 21.0 IP scoreless streak from Aug. 24-Sept. 4, tied for the longest streak in the majors during the run. Sept. 4 vs. San Francisco tossed a career-high 8.0 scoreless innings, becoming the Cubs first left-handed starting pitcher since 1901 to pitch at least 8.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits or fewer and striking out at least 12 in a game … was the Cubs first starter since Yu Darvish (Sept. 22, 2019 vs. St. Louis) and first lefty since Jose Quintana (Aug. 13, 2019 at Philadelphia) to strike out at least 12 batters in a game. Aug. 29 vs. Milwaukee, earned his 15th win of the season in his 25th start, the first Cub to accomplish the feat since Jake Arrieta did so in 2016. July 21 vs. St. Louis, recorded his 10th win of the season, the first time in his career that he has reached double-digit wins. Earned his first career All-Star nod and pitched a scoreless fifth inning, allowing one hit with one strikeout in the N.L.’s 3-2 victory. Started the first game in London, June 24 vs. St. Louis, earning the win (1 ER/6.0 IP). Posted a 53.0-inning stretch without allowing a home run from April 14-June 17, which was the longest active streak in the majors. Left his start May 31 vs. Tampa Bay after 3.0 innings with left forearm tightness … was placed on the IL June 3 (retro to June 1) and was activated June 17. Had a 17-start streak of allowing three earned runs or fewer at Wrigley Field from April 24, 2022-May 10, 2023 … pitched to a 2.20 ERA (23 ER/94.0 IP) during the run … his 2.20 home ERA during the stretch was the third-lowest in the N.L. Went eight starts before suffering his first loss of the season May 16 in Houston … allowed five runs in the outing … at the time of his first loss, was the only pitcher in the N.L. with at least six wins and zero losses. Allowed two or fewer earned runs in 14-straight starts from July 22, 2022-May 5, 2023, tied for the second-longest stretch in Cubs franchise history (since 1901), behind Jack Taylor’s streak of 15 games June 13-Aug. 14, 1902 (tied with Jake Arrieta, 14 G, 7/30/15-4/4/16). Went 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA (4 ER/13.2 IP) with 13 strikeouts in four Cactus League starts in 2023 … started and tossed the first 2.0 innings of the Cubs combined no-hitter, March 3 at San Diego.
MLB Preview: Milwaukee Brewers (85-66) at St. Louis Cardinals (67-84)
