Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Pirates Friday game threadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2019-08-17T09:30:00-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/205711632019-08-17T09:30:00-05:002019-08-17T09:30:00-05:002019 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 122
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<figcaption>Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The beats keep on coming; Cubs lose 3-2 for fourth straight loss</p> <p id="CV29Cp">I wish I could say that the 2019 <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> are unprecedented in team history. Unfortunately, I’ve been a Cubs fan long enough that I just can’t say that. The Cubs keep on losing. They have the weapons to compete, but they just can’t keep them all pointed in the right direction. To be fair, the Cubs probably deserved to lose this game. They managed just two hits over the first seven innings and five for the whole game. But, they were able to plate two runs in the eighth inning, including a two-run triple against <a href="https://www.bucsdugout.com/">Pirates</a> closer <span>Felipe Vazquez</span>. </p>
<p id="9zrHD8">When a team is falling apart (or has fallen apart), even when you get seven shutout innings and bring your closer in to quell an uprising, things can get sideways in a hurry. Of course, in this instance I’m talking about the Pirates. Their ship is taking on water even faster than the Cubs’ own ship is. <span>Tony Kemp</span> was an unlikely source of offense, but he came through with that two-run triple against Vazquez. </p>
<p id="98D5Ga">The Cubs then sent <span>Kyle Ryan</span> out to start the ninth inning. He retired the first batter he faced, then allowed a single. At that point, <span>Brandon Kintzler</span> was summoned to close it out. For the second straight game, the Cubs pen just couldn’t close it out. He too retired the first batter he faced. He then walked three straight (one intentional) before allowing a single for a Pirates walk-off winner. </p>
<p id="Guhamt">With the fourth straight loss, the Cubs dropped to 2-6 on the trip. A winning trip is no longer possible and the Cubs are no longer in first place. The Cubs need to circle the wagons, try to escape with another win or two and then hope coming home and then getting a few more live bodies back can right the ship. The <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> just dropped a double digit night on the <a href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a> in a game started by Reds ace <span>Luis Castillo</span> . The Cardinals smell blood in the water. I’m not sure they are a good enough team to run away with things, but I’m always going to worry about a Cardinal team that hangs around too long. I’ve seen this show too many times. </p>
<p id="iiGBYo">With that, we turn our attention to yesterday’s game as we look at what WPA had to say about Heroes and Goats. As always the Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA (Win Probability Added — <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/28/17159170/cubs-heroes-and-goats-2018-season-primer">here’s a good explanation of how WPA works</a>) and are not in any way subjective. Many days WPA will not tell the story of what happened, but often it can give at least a glimpse to who rose to the occasion in a high leverage moment or who didn’t get the job done in that moment. Also note, for the purposes of Heroes and Goats, we ignore the results of pitchers while they are batting and hitters while they are pitching. With that, we get to the results.</p>
<p id="g9vY64"><strong>Game 122, August 16: </strong>Cubs 2, Pirates 3 (64-58)</p>
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<iframe src="https://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2019-08-16&team=Pirates&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width="450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2019-08-16&team=Pirates&dh=0&season=2019">FanGraphs</a></span>
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<p id="FKme0D"><strong>THREE HEROES:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="pM9IOx">
<strong>Superhero: </strong><span>Tony Kemp</span> (.361). Kemp had one hit in three at bats, a two-run triple to give the Cubs a lead in the eighth inning. </li>
<li id="yggIjQ">
<strong>Hero: </strong><span>Kyle Hendricks</span> (.186). Kyle was quite good again in this one. He threw seven innings, allowed three hits, one walk and one run. He did only strikeout one. </li>
<li id="bhOcXs">
<strong>Sidekick: </strong><span>Ian Happ</span> (.158). Happ had a pinch hit single in the eighth inning and came around to score on the Kemp triple.</li>
</ul>
<p id="aUP45d"><strong>THREE GOATS:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="6A3jeJ">
<strong>Billy Goat: </strong><span>Brandon Kintzler</span> (-.802). Brandon joins <span>Craig Kimbrel</span> for the second largest negative WPA game of the year (Kimbrel also has the largest at -.813). Cubs relievers are now responsible for the nine worst WPA games of the year and 10 of the “top” 11. Kintzler faced five batters in this one, walked three, allowed a single and retired one.</li>
<li id="rT6Mgz">
<strong>Goat: </strong><span>Nicholas Castellanos</span> (-.165). Castellanos was hitless in four at bats on the night with two strikeouts.</li>
<li id="6vQTOC">
<strong>Kid: </strong><span>Kyle Schwarber</span> (-.141). Schwarber was hitless in four at bats with two strikeouts. </li>
</ul>
<p id="SNBgoH"><strong>WPA Play of the Game: </strong>Tony Kemp (.409). The eighth largest positive WPA play of the game goes to waste in the loss. Kemp’s two-run triple in the eighth inning. </p>
<p id="6Zjxpq">*Pirates Play of the Game: <span>Cole Tucker</span>’s base loaded walk is actually the largest one in the game. It tied the score at 2. (.391). The walk-off single was worth (.346). The walk was the seventh largest negative WPA play of the year. </p>
<p id="14RFEx"><strong>Cumulative Standings Top/Bottom 3:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="m7YPPo">
<span>Kris Bryant</span> 30.75</li>
<li id="iv5kBO">
<span>Anthony Rizzo</span> 25</li>
<li id="TZwmuU">Kyle Hendricks 13</li>
<li id="u2MzLa">
<span>Jason Heyward</span>/!<span>Carl Edwards Jr.</span> -12</li>
<li id="yuN7Yv">
<span>Pedro Strop</span> -19.5</li>
</ul>
<p id="7iN7cs"><strong>Up Next: </strong>Another game between the two cratering teams. The Cubs will look to snap a four-game losing streak with <span>Jon Lester</span> on the hill. Jon is 9-8 with a 4.43 ERA in 128 innings. He is 2-2 over his last seven with a 5.63 ERA in 40 innings. Last time out, he allowed three runs on five hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out seven. He didn’t get a decision. He’s faced the Pirates twice this year. He is 1-0 and has allowed only three runs in 8⅔ innings (he left one after two innings with an injury). He actually allowed zero runs in his last two starts against the Pirates last year too. Current Pirates have 200 PA against Lester with a .679 OPS). <span>Melky Cabrera</span> leads the way with 57 PA (.662). <span>Josh Bell</span> has performed better (.815 OPS, 25 PA).</p>
<p id="tV5Mst">The Pirates counter with lefty <span>Steven Brault</span>. Brault is 3-1 with a 4.33 ERA in 70⅔ innings this year. Brault’s last start that resulted in a decision was June 14 in Miami. Still, over his last seven starts he is 1-0 with a 3.25 ERA. Last time out, he pitched in St. Louis. He allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in just 4⅔ innings. He has made one start in 2016, one in 2017 and one in 2018 against the Cubs. He’s never received a decision and has thrown only 14 innings allowing 10 runs (nine earned). Current Cubs have 122 PA against Brault with a 1.028 OPS. Kris Bryant, Jason Heyward and <span>Javier Baez</span> have all mashed against Brault. Bryant (1.667 in 15), Heyward (1.082 in 15), Baez (1.556 in 12). Rizzo also has 12 PA, but only a .250 OPS. </p>
<p id="GAMQGd">A lefty on the road. What could possibly go wrong? </p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/17/20809647/2019-cubs-heroes-and-goats-game-122Thomas Smith2019-08-17T08:00:00-05:002019-08-17T08:00:00-05:00Pirates 3, Cubs 2: Déjà vu
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<figcaption>Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>%&$#?@!%&$#?@!</p> <p id="1rCLIk">Decades from now, when historians write the story of the Theo Epstein-era <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a>, when they rose to power and victory and when they fell away, having to be retooled, those historians will likely cite this game, this disastrous, horrendous, terrible, awful, ghastly <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2019_08_16_chnmlb_pitmlb_1">3-2 loss to the Pirates</a> Friday evening, as the beginning of the end.</p>
<p id="7Zjkl2">As fans, all of us go through various emotions during a Cubs game, or in reaction to the result. Among those emotions: Elation, joy, frustration, disappointment, surprise, disgust, sadness.</p>
<p id="j0OmcW">This one just made me angry.</p>
<p id="z52Jpo">If all those words sound familiar, they should, because except for the score of the game and the opponent, I just copied and pasted them from <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/16/20808404/cubs-phillies-recap-yu-darvish-kyle-schwarber-mlb-scores">the recap of Thursday night’s game</a> against the <a href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/">Phillies</a>, because everything felt like... <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x2tmmc2">déjà vu [VIDEO]</a>:</p>
<div id="XTDSjl"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 75.4167%;"><iframe src="https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x2tmmc2" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="hU1Oie"></p>
<p id="ONhcT0">You know, I thought about coming here and simply writing “The Cubs lost to the Pirates 3-2 Friday evening” and posting details about Saturday’s game. Would that have been enough for you? As I did Thursday, I turned off the TV before the winning run even crossed the plate, and again had had enough baseball for the evening, not going through my usual routine of watching a bit of a West Coast game before going to sleep. Instead, I again did a bit of non-baseball reading quietly.</p>
<p id="JQ4ruJ">I’ve had about enough of that, too.</p>
<p id="8oUJXx">The Cubs showed us Thursday that the bullpen can’t protect a five-run lead with six outs to go. Friday, they couldn’t protect a one-run lead with six outs to go. What other wonders will they show us in the 40 games remaining this season?</p>
<p id="dqLyvV">This ruined another excellent outing by <span>Kyle Hendricks</span>: Seven innings, three hits, one walk, one run. Kyle only struck out one, but he induced weak contact much of the time, departing for pinch-hitter <span>Ian Happ</span> with the Cubs trailing 1-0.</p>
<p id="Npsgm0">That was a good pinch-hitting call. Happ singled after a <span>Jonathan Lucroy</span> single with one out in the eighth.</p>
<p id="4ifPaI">That brought up Kemp, and brought Pirates closer <span>Felipe Vazquez</span> into the game. You were probably thinking the same thing I was, right? To wit: “Why isn’t <span>David Bote</span> batting for Kemp here against a tough lefthander?”</p>
<p id="HE0Y6u"><a href="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/16/95076139-856d197d-6afe0342-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">We were all proven wrong by Kemp [VIDEO].</a></p>
<div id="SrPtMw"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><video controls="" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;">Your browser does not support HTML5 video.<source src="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/16/95076139-856d197d-6afe0342-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4" type="video/mp4"></source></video></div></div>
<p id="zwgezA"></p>
<p id="UlAsfd">Kemp’s RBI triple scored both runners and gave the Cubs the lead. You can hear how many Cubs fans were at PNC Park in that clip; must have been close to half the crowd.</p>
<p id="pCz1Xi">Earlier in the game, <a href="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/16/5a472dc9-6019fc80-c1895af3-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">Kemp had made this slick defensive play [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
<div id="QgtT9y"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><video controls="" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;">Your browser does not support HTML5 video.<source src="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/16/5a472dc9-6019fc80-c1895af3-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4" type="video/mp4"></source></video></div></div>
<p id="lyYeMu"></p>
<p id="iMnoM9">Gee, I wonder if he could have made a play or two in Philadelphia... c’mon, Al, stop torturing yourself.</p>
<p id="97UwuR"><span>Brandon Kintzler</span>, summoned to close things out in the ninth inning, couldn’t. It’s beginning to make me wonder whether the Cubs should just let <span>Rowan Wick</span> close while <span>Craig Kimbrel</span> is out. I mean, <em>how much worse could things be?</em></p>
<p id="0sxZ0b"><span>Kintzler</span>, after the game:</p>
<div id="dKnsQE">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kintzler said the worst pitch of the inning was the 3-2 change up to Tucker: "That was so stupid."</p>— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNChiCubs/status/1162554215337725952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2019</a>
</blockquote>
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<p id="AuzWP1">Well, <em>duh.</em></p>
<p id="eMsHIk">I can’t explain this. You can’t explain it. I’m sure Joe Maddon is getting tired of making postgame comments like this:</p>
<div id="16YuyV">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Maddon on the 9th <a href="https://t.co/vaIdmRgxo0">pic.twitter.com/vaIdmRgxo0</a></p>— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) <a href="https://twitter.com/MDGonzales/status/1162554264067219456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2019</a>
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<p id="o6ngtT">And congratulations! You are now living through something that has never been done in 144 seasons of Cubs franchise history:</p>
<div id="YruV4g">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Update:<br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> currently have the biggest home/road win percentage differential in franchise history.<br> Home Road Diff.<br>2019 41-19 (.683) 23-39 (.371) .312<br>1933 56-23 (.709) 30-45 (.400) .309</p>— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) <a href="https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/1162544249621176323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2019</a>
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<p id="e1ckiy">Well, that’s about all I’ve got. Can’t imagine you want to hear any more about this game. Oh, except maybe for this:</p>
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<p id="Q4NlZC">The <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> won Friday night and now lead the Cubs by one game in the N.L. Central. Frankly, it’s surprising the Cubs are <em>only</em> one game out of first place.</p>
<p id="Ucmxqr">As Joe Maddon noted in that clip above, all they can do is pick up the pieces and play another game Saturday afternoon. The game is an afternoon game because the teams are traveling to Williamsport later Saturday to participate in Little League activities Sunday afternoon before the Little League Classic Sunday evening.</p>
<p id="A243GM">Saturday’s starting pitchers: <span>Jon Lester</span> for the Cubs, <span>Steven Brault</span> for the Pirates. Game time: 12:35 p.m. CT. TV coverage: ABC7 Chicago (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Pirates market territories). Saturday’s game preview posting time: 11 a.m. CT.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/17/20809884/cubs-pirates-recap-kyle-hendricks-tony-kemp-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2019-08-16T20:50:00-05:002019-08-16T20:50:00-05:00Overflow thread 3: Cubs vs. Pirates, Friday 8/16, 6:05 CT
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ov_mfbpmy4oLa3cEUI7rJ61QZu4=/0x0:4240x2827/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65035150/usa_today_13214335.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="7wkimd">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/16/20807120/overflow-thread-3-cubs-vs-pirates-friday-8-16-6-05-ctAl Yellon2019-08-16T20:05:00-05:002019-08-16T20:05:00-05:00Overflow thread 2: Cubs vs. Pirates, Friday 8/16, 6:05 CT
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/v5ZWKSZANaopGWyqUgxcwsGsd5w=/0x0:4206x2804/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65035025/usa_today_13214326.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="7wkimd">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/16/20807118/overflow-thread-2-cubs-vs-pirates-friday-8-16-6-05-ctAl Yellon2019-08-16T19:05:00-05:002019-08-16T19:05:00-05:00Overflow thread 1: Cubs vs. Pirates, Friday 8/16, 6:05 CT
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<img alt="MLB: Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/revgN7C2VQwQEkqz14ZZpgYJ7_A=/2065x107:3338x956/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65034819/usa_today_13214330.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="7wkimd">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/16/20807116/overflow-thread-1-cubs-vs-pirates-friday-8-16-6-05-ctAl Yellon2019-08-16T18:00:00-05:002019-08-16T18:00:00-05:00First pitch thread: Cubs vs. Pirates, Friday 8/16, 6:05 CT
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HxACIqYASCPWWlm6E-KGo-49Z2g=/0x0:3346x2231/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65034633/usa_today_13106205.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="7wkimd">Go get ‘em, Kyle.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/16/20807111/first-pitch-thread-cubs-vs-pirates-friday-8-16-6-05-ctAl Yellon2019-08-16T16:00:00-05:002019-08-16T16:00:00-05:00Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates preview, Friday 8/16, 6:05 CT
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-kOoesTdQjJzA-zdv5gDfppHf5U=/702x268:4457x2771/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65033899/1161846160.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Maybe tonight.</p> <p id="cBFvFT">Today’s Cubs roster moves: <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/16/20808993/cubs-roster-move-albert-almora-jr-iowa-addison-russell-recalled">Here</a></p>
<p id="tbE4Kn">Happy 33rd birthday, <span>Yu Darvish</span>!</p>
<p id="uO6uUU">Friday notes:</p>
<ul>
<li id="P1j01Z">The Cubs are 27-23 within the N.L. Central division this year, a .540 winning percentage. They are 19-5 vs. N.L. Central opponents at home but are 8-18 against N.L. Central clubs on the road. Of the Cubs’ 41 remaining games, 26 are against N.L. Central opponents, 13 at Wrigley Field and 13 on the road.</li>
<li id="bvH354">
<span>Victor Caratini</span> last night picked off <span>Logan Morrison</span> at first base, his third catcher pickoff this season. That’s tied for the most in the N.L. with <span>Yan Gomes</span> and tied for second-most in the majors (<span>Christian Vazquez</span>, 4). Since the start of 2016, Cubs catchers have recorded 27 pickoffs, by far the most in the majors. Milwaukee is second with 13. </li>
<li id="DUT1KV">The Cubs this season have hit 190 home runs, tied for third-most in the N.L. with Milwaukee and trailing only the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> (211) and <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves</a> (197). They are on pace for 254 home runs, which would break the franchise record of 235 set in 2004.</li>
<li id="iP9tqT">
<span>Nicholas Castellanos</span>, acquired at the trade deadline from the <a href="https://www.blessyouboys.com/">Tigers</a>, has hit safely in 13 of his first 14 games as a Cub, batting .386/.435/.772 (22-for-57) with seven doubles, five homers and seven RBI. He leads the major leagues with 44 doubles, two short of his career high of 46, set last year.</li>
</ul>
<p id="zulnRU">Here are today’s particulars.</p>
<p id="HAZTFQ"><a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> lineup:</p>
<div id="qeXA6R">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here is tonight's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> starting lineup. <a href="https://t.co/2tn8x4tuVB">pic.twitter.com/2tn8x4tuVB</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1162466259402985480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2019</a>
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<p id="6ZfO7W"><a href="https://www.bucsdugout.com/">Pirates</a> lineup:</p>
<div id="y9EspD">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tonight's lineup, presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/Honda?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Honda</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoBucs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoBucs</a> <a href="https://t.co/loEu3G95Ez">pic.twitter.com/loEu3G95Ez</a></p>— Pirates (@Pirates) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pirates/status/1162442728048877568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2019</a>
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<h2 id="V5jSYv">
<span>Kyle Hendricks</span>, RHP vs. <span>Joe Musgrove</span>, RHP</h2>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Y4ylQkbBDaAzwhrzqgQWO9JokvA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13174259/usa_today_10737403.jpg">
<cite>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xSTOGIstEMrT65nzS-6jsm1ez8Y=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16020604/usa_today_12382811.jpg">
<cite>Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<p id="IAoS2U">These two pitchers matched up <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT201907020.shtml">July 2 at PNC Park</a>. There was a long rain delay after the third inning, and neither Kyle Hendricks nor Joe Musgrove returned after the delay.</p>
<p id="Yrp86e">Hendricks was making his first start coming off the injured list that night and allowed four hits and two runs. Musgrove allowed just one hit.</p>
<p id="N6DYwD">After that game, Hendricks put together a six-start run where he posted a 2.04 ERA, 0.934 WHIP and .177 opponents BA, before he got hit hard by the <a href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a> in his last outing. Hopefully, that was a one-off and he gets back on track tonight.</p>
<p id="mcFH8n">Musgrove has not been good at all since that outing. In his last seven starts he has a 6.19 ERA, 1.376 WHIP and has allowed 10 home runs in 36⅓ innings. Current Cubs, though, have not hit him well: 12-for-80 (.150). Kris Bryant has homered off him.</p>
<p id="DIbTfl">Today’s game is on WGN. </p>
<p id="cxuSIp"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/2019/08/16">Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.</a></p>
<p id="Xe5URc"><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2019_08_16_chnmlb_pitmlb_1">MLB.com Gameday</a></p>
<p id="iDRiK8"><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/previews/2019/PIT201908160.shtml">Baseball-reference.com game preview</a></p>
<p id="AScVZw"><span>SB Nation game preview</span></p>
<p id="c01E3n">Please visit our SB Nation <a href="https://www.bucsdugout.com/">Pirates</a> site <a href="http://www.bucsdugout.com/">Bucs Dugout</a>. If you do go there to interact with Pirates fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.</p>
<p id="4R9cxt">The 2019 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used in previous years. Here’s how it works.</p>
<p id="uNrOo7">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).</p>
<p id="Jy7Er2">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.</p>
<p id="F5ehVY">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 <a href="http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/chicago-cubs-game-threads">this section link</a>). They will also appear in the game’s StoryStream as noted above.</p>
<p id="pjBR1E">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.</p>
<p id="cWIBoH">Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/16/20803380/chicago-cubs-pittsburgh-pirates-preview-fridayAl Yellon