Pirates Daily: Can Bryse Wilson & the Bucs Split the Cubs Series?

The Pittsburgh Pirates (40-57) finish their two-game series with the Chicago Cubs (39-57) on Wednesday afternoon before heading home to face the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

Lineup

1. Kevin Newman 2B
2. Bryan Reynolds CF
3. Ke’Bryan Hayes 3B
4. Ben Gamel DH
5. Cal Mitchell RF
6. Greg Allen LF
7. Oneil Cruz SS
8. Josh VanMeter 1B
9. Jason Delay C

Weather

The weather in Chicago at first pitch (2:20 p.m. ET) should be good, with temperatures around 77 degrees. Winds will be blowing at eight mph from the southeast and should stay at that mark throughout the game.

Starters

The starters for the second game of the series are expected to be Bryse Wilson (1-5, 6.52 ERA) of the Pirates and Keegan Thompson (7-4, 3.43 ERA) for the Cubs.

Wilson has put forth a really good effort in two out of his last three starts. If you combine Wilson’s starts on July 2 and 7, he went 12.2 innings, struck out eight, walked one, and gave up three earned runs. Not too shabby, I’d say.

In Thompson’s last three starts, he has had a bit of a walk problem, issuing eight free passes in 14 innings, including four against the Mets on July 14.  

Betting Odds

The Pirates are opening as +145 underdogs. The Cubs open as -170 favorites on the money line. The O/U sits at 8.5 runs, with the run line at the Pirates +1.5 (-130) and the Cubs -1.5 (+112)

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not?

Who’s Hot: After Monday night’s start, JT Brubaker has gone 18 innings in his last three outings. Brubaker has allowed five earned runs and struck out 19. Brubaker’s ERA in July is now 2.25.

Who’s Not: Dillon Peters has hit a snag recently. In Peters’ last three games, the left-hander has given up eight earned runs (six on July 15) and 13 hits in 7.1 innings.

Tidbits

1. Wilson has seemed to trust his slider, especially against right-handed hitters. Opponents are batting .226 against the slider, and looking at the heat map, Wilson seems to be placing it much better.
2. In 20.2 innings pitched against the Cubs, Wilson has had a rough go of things. Wilson has an ERA of 6.97, and the Cubs are batting .348 with an OPS of .945. 
3. Thompson has dominated the Pirates in 21.1 innings pitched. Thompson holds an ERA of 1.69 and held the Pirates to a .211 batting average with an OPS of .632.

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