Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Preview, Saturday 4/15, 1:20 CT

The Cubs are 6-4. That might seem "bad" to you, given the team's amazing start last year (they were 9-1 after 10 games).

It's really not. 6-4 is a .600 winning percentage. Playing .600 ball all year would mean 97 wins, which ought to be enough to win the N.L. Central.

It's hard not to make comparisons to the greatest Cubs season (2016) any of us have ever seen. But we shouldn't, because that's something that's nearly impossible to replicate.

More important, at least in the immediate future, is defeating the Pirates. The Cubs went 25-12 against the Pirates over the last two years. Continuing that dominance would seem to be important.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Schwarber LF, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Zobrist RF, Russell SS, Heyward CF, Contreras C, Arrieta P, Baez 2B

Pirates lineup:

Frazier SS, Marte CF, McCutchen RF, Polanco LF, Freese 3B, Cervelli C, Bell 1B, Harrison 2B, Glasnow P

Jake Arrieta vs. Tyler Glasnow

Jake Arrieta is off to a very good start to 2017, a 2.08 ERA and 0.846 WHIP in two starts covering 13 innings. The Pirates have been one of his particular favorites to throw against over the last couple of seasons. In 15 career starts against them he has a 2.96 ERA and 0.955 WHIP. Current Pirates are hitting .212 (46-for-217) against Jake with four home runs. Some Pirates regulars have really struggled vs. Jake: Josh Harrison (2-for-21), Gregory Polanco (5-for-30).

Tyler Glasnow is making his second start of 2017. He got pounded by the Reds in his first start, April 10 in Pittsbugh, where he didn't make it out of the second inning. He has never faced the Cubs or anyone on the current Cubs roster. Glasnow is perhaps the highest-regarded of all the young Pirates pitching prospects. Let's hope the Cubs can put a dent in that reputation.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

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The 2017 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used during 2016. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview posted separately on the front page, two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page. The First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads will be published in that stream, as well as the recap. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post, and at the time I write the recap I will rename the stream "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread, all the overflow threads and recap in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in the game's StoryStream as noted above.

The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at one hour, two hours and 2:45 after the scheduled game time.

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Discuss amongst yourselves.