The Cubs will continue their road trip against young, upcoming teams as they travel to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates on Friday evening. They'll start Rodrigo Lopez and hope that he can build off of his successful shutout against the White Sox and give the Cubs some momentum heading into the weekend.
Lopez, 1-2 with a 3.91 ERA and 1.42 WHIP, has started one game against Pittsburgh in his career. In that game, he threw 6.0 innings, giving up one run on six hits and a walk, while striking out five. Lyle Overbay is 3-for-4 against Lopez, while Garrett Jones is 1-for-2.
Pitching for the Pirates will be James McDonald. McDonald, 5-4 with a 4.40 ERA and 1.59 WHIP, has started one game against the Cubs in his career. In that game, McDonald went 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on ten hits and three walks, while striking out seven. Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro are both 2-for-3 against McDonald.
The weather in Pittsburgh is forecast to be stormy, with a game time temperature in the mid-70s. Weather permitting, first pitch will be at 6:05 P.M., CDT, and the game will be televised on CSN and ROOT Sports.