Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs meet in game 2 of series

Updated Sep. 3, 2024 4:02 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Pittsburgh Pirates (64-73, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (71-67, second in the NL Central)

Chicago; Tuesday, 7:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Paul Skenes (8-2, 2.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 136 strikeouts); Cubs: Justin Steele (5-5, 3.09 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 131 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Pirates -128, Cubs +107; over/under is 6 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates lead 1-0 in a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago has a 71-67 record overall and a 36-30 record at home. The Cubs are 54-21 in games when they record at least eight hits.

Pittsburgh has a 64-73 record overall and a 32-37 record on the road. The Pirates have gone 23-13 in games when they hit at least two home runs.

Tuesday's game is the 12th time these teams match up this season. The Cubs hold a 6-5 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Seiya Suzuki leads the Cubs with a .275 batting average, and has 23 doubles, six triples, 19 home runs, 47 walks and 64 RBI. Ian Happ is 17-for-44 with a home run and 10 RBI over the last 10 games.

Bryan Reynolds has a .282 batting average to lead the Pirates, and has 24 doubles, three triples and 22 home runs. Oneil Cruz is 15-for-41 with five RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 8-2, .310 batting average, 4.96 ERA, outscored opponents by 42 runs

Pirates: 4-6, .260 batting average, 7.16 ERA, outscored by 26 runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Justin Steele: day-to-day (elbow), Nick Madrigal: 60-Day IL (finger), Julian Merryweather: 15-Day IL (knee), Ben Brown: 60-Day IL (neck), Luke Little: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hayden Wesneski: 15-Day IL (forearm), Colten Brewer: 60-Day IL (hand), Yency Almonte: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Pirates: Ben Heller: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Joey Bart: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Hunter Stratton: 60-Day IL (patella), Ke'Bryan Hayes: 10-Day IL (herniated disc), Marco Gonzales: 60-Day IL (forearm), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.