Series Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs

Well. if I had to pick one team to play on the heels of a 7 game losing streak in which the Cubs played shown some of the worst offense I have seen in my years as a Cubs fan, it would be the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, that’s about the only good thing I can come up with to say heading into the Cubs latest homestand.

At this point, I am really having no fun watching the Cubs, and for that to happen, things have to be going poorly.

The Pirates are actually exceding expectations so far this season: they’re only in 5th place. They are 20-24 on the season so far. Like last year, the player to watch for the Buccos is center fielder Nate McLouth. He’s following up on his strong 2008 season with 7 homers and 29 RBI’s in this young 2009 campaign. He’s one of my favorite non-Cubs, but hopefully he stays quiet for the next 3 games.

The other most high profile players in the Pirates lineup are all in the infield. You have the two middle infielders who have been around since around 1985, Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson, who won’t do much more than hit singles, but they sure will bug you in the batter’s box. The corner infielders are the dueling LaRoche’s, Andy and Adam. Adam has proven to be dangerous against Cubs pitching, but he’s batting a paltry .222 on the year…which means he’s due to put up a 6-14 series with 2 homers.

Another weak point for the Pirates is the bullpen. They are “anchored” by closer Matt Capps, who sports an ERA over 7 on the season. The entire pitching staff is made up of guys who get outs by inducing contact, and they really are just not intimidating.

Like I said, the Pirates are just the team the Cubs should want to see right now, but the Cubs still are going to have to play MUCH better to reverse their recent fortunes. Ryan Dempster gets the ball in Wrigley, which is a good start. Hopefully he can turn things around for Kingdom Cub on Memorial Day.

Game 1 Monday 8:05 eastern WGN – Paul Maholm (3-1 3.30) vs. Ryan Dempster (3-3 4.40)

Paul Maholm has a lot of experience against the Cubs, and his career number against the Cubbies are very strange. In 8 starts, he has a solid 4-1 record, but a less than stellar ERA of 6.32. Both Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano have matched up well with the 26 year old lefty, batting 13-38 lifetime. Soriano also has 3 dingers in only 17 AB’s against him. He has 6 quality starts in 9 tries so far this season, and has given up only 1 run in his last 2 starts (13 innings).

Ryan Dempster, just like pretty much every Cub starter in the last week, handed in a quality effort, but was victimized by the frighteningly bad Cubs offense. Chris Carpenter beat him the last time out, despite Dempster allowing only 2 runs in 7 innings. He will be looking to improve on a 4-7 lifetime record against the Bucs.

Game 2 Tuesday 8:05 eastern CSN – Ian Snell (1-5 4.88) vs. Sean Marshall (2-3 3.96)

Snell has been mediocre all season, but he has not been as bad as his 1-5 record shows. He has 3 quality starts in his last 5, but sports an 0-3 record. It’s been over a month since he picked up a win, but with a career record against the Cubs that matches his season record (1-5), it may be tough sledding for him.

Sean Marshall will keep his spot in the rotation thanks to Rich Harden making his first trip to the DL. Randy Wells seems to have earned a permanent spot with 3 strong efforts so far, and Marshall would add a much needed lefty to the bullpen. Marshall has been about as good as you could hope a 5th starter would be, but he may fall victim to the numbers game. No Pirate has more than 9 lifetime AB’s against him.

Game 3 Wednesday 1:20 eastern WGN – Zach Duke (5-4 2.77) vs. Carlos Zambrano (3-2 4.64)

Zach Duke has been a decision machine so far this year, recording a win or loss in each of his 9 starts. He’s had a couple rough ones, but for the most part he has been very good, working deep into games (he’s pitched into the 7th or beyond 7 of 9 times). He’s 3rd in the NL in innings pitched and has a stellar WHIP of only 1.08. Duke is another guy with a bunch of starts against the Cubs and he’s 4-5 with a 3.07 ERA in 13 starts. Duke needs to just walk Alfonso Soriano when he steps in: Soriano is batting 14-25 (.560) lifetime against him.

Carlos Zambrano made his first start since his hamstring injury, and certainly showed some rust. He featured some great stuff, firing heat up to 96 mph, but also battled control issues, giving up only 3 hits but 4 runs and 4 walks. I look for Big Z to turn in a great start against the Pirates, in spite of the fact that he has had mixed results against the Central’s perennial punching bag.