The Pittsburgh Pirates are throwing their new center fielder into the deep end as they try to avoid getting swept by the Chicago Cubs.
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday afternoon after playing a non-competitve brand of baseball over the first two contests of the series.
Paul Skenes will toe the rubber and attempt to stop the bleeding for the Pirates in his third-ever start against the Cubs. The 22-year-old rookie ace owns a 2.70 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 10 innings in his prior pair of encounters with Chicago, which included his MLB debut on May 11. The Cubs will send out 11-year veteran Kyle Hendricks, who owns a 9-14 record and 3.81 ERA over 31 career appearances facing the Pirates. A former Cy Young Award finalist, Hendricks has entered the twilight of his career at 34-years-old, evidenced by his 6.33 ERA over 23 games and 18 starts this season.
His athleticism and rare arm talent should play well in center, though it may take some time for him to settle in and fully adapt to his new defensive home. Offensively, Cruz is riding an eight-game hit streak and is coming off of a four-hit performance against the Cubs on Tuesday night. His slash line now sits at .271/.328/.473 with 18 home runs and 65 RBIs through 119 games.
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