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The Cubs have the major leagues' second-best road record at 8-3 (tied with the Nationals), behind the Astros at 7-2. Since the start of the 2015 season the Cubs have the best road record of any team, 102-70 (second: Cardinals, 97-75).
All of that bodes well with a 4-1 record on this trip and four games remaining, and a shot at their first series sweep of 2017 tonight.
After a rough start, the bullpen has recovered to post an overall 3.07 ERA, which is third-best in the major leagues entering tonight, and the bullpen's .186 BAA (batting average against) is tops in the National League.
Enough notes? On to today’s particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Schwarber LF, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Russell SS, Heyward RF, Contreras C, Baez 2B, Lester P, Jay CF
Trying to stay toasty in Pittsburgh.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 26, 2017
Game preview: https://t.co/6WqRvmCL2i pic.twitter.com/WznBguz45p
Pirates lineup:
Harrison 3B, Mercer SS, McCutchen CF, Polanco LF, Cervelli C, Osuna RF, Bell 1B, Gosselin 2B, Glasnow P
Jon Lester vs. Tyler Glasnow
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Three of Jon Lester's four starts have been outstanding, one not so much. He threw seven shutout inning against the Pirates April 16 at Wrigley Field, departing with the game scoreless. The bullpen blew up in the eighth and ninth. Lester's seven-inning outing is one of just two that long by any Cubs starter so far this year, so hopefully he goes deep into the game again tonight.
Tyler Glasnow is one of the Pirates' top young pitchers. The Cubs, though, had no trouble with him April 15 at Wrigley Field, scoring six runs (four earned) in five innings, including a monster homer off the video board by Kris Bryant. Glasnow has not gotten past the fifth inning in any of his three starts this year and has walked nine in 11⅓ innings.
Today's game is on CSN Chicago.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com 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.