You have to feel good for fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates. A franchise that hasn't had a winning season since 1992 and set a record for 18 consecutive losing seasons, is four games over .500 and only one game out of first. There is still a lot of baseball to be played, but the Pirates haven't had a start like this since 1992. Depending on how things end up this weekend the Pirates could even enter the all-star break in First Place in the NL Central.
Game two of the three-game series features what could be a pretty could pitching matchup. The Cubs will send their ace Ryan Dempster to the mound. Dempster is 5-6 on the season with an ERA of 4.99. The Cubs righty is coming off a solid performance in his last start. Dempster, who hasn't pitched since June 29th because of an illness and back pain, pitched eight strong in a no decision against the Giants. In his last five starts, Dempster has an ERA of 1.95.
Pittsburgh will look to win the weekend series with their ace Kevin Correia. Correia has pitched great for the Pirates all season. The righty is 11-6 on the season with an ERA of 3.74. Correia has already beaten the Cubs twice this year and is 3-0 with a 3.31 ERA in his career against the North Siders.
The forecast at the time of first pitch in Pittsburgh is sunny skies with temps in the low 80's. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 CST. The game will be televised on WGN.