Chicago Cubs name Chris Rusin for Friday’s opener against Pittsburgh Pirates – MLB News
The Chicago Cubs have slated starter Chris Rusin for Friday’s opening game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. The Cubs and Pirates will battle it out in a four-game series wherein Pittsburgh will have James McDonald as their starter.
McDonald had been faring well this season when things were going perfectly well for the Pirates. However, there McDonald is now struggling tremendously, especially in his last 11 starts.
He now has a 6.91 ERA in 11 starts, allowing no less than 13 runs and just over 51 innings all this while, walking 33.
Compare it to the record that he has previously held – prior to the All-Star break. He was carrying a 3.93 average with a 12-7 win-loss record. That puts the onus on McDonald to put things in order.
"J-Mac was out there competing, and he was finishing things off so innings didn't get away from him," Hurdle said afterward. "The one thing that complicated it for him was the leadoff man getting on in five of his six innings. He had to stay in the stretch most of the night."
The Pirates are contending for the Wild Card and are just over two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. This four game series will be an opportunity for the Pirates to make the most out of it and go past them. But the fact stands that the Cubs have a relatively good record at home.
At Wrigley Field, the Cubs have a 34-34 record which goes to the club’s advantage. That is what the Pirates will keep in mind.
The Cubs will be looking to correct their base running blunders and put up a decent fight against the aggressive Pirates.
Manager Dale Sveum said, "You want everybody to maybe sprint 100 percent through home plate, but not when it's a complete no-brainer, where there's no play at home and no play anywhere else. It's a non-play, basically. It's a sacrifice fly deep enough, kind of in the left-center field gap.”
It will be interesting to see how the two teams go about the four-game series where both will try to get the upper hand, but stakes are really high for the Pirates.
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