Chicago Cubs, Jon Lester going for the sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates

Before hitting the road and starting a nine-game road trip, the Chicago Cubs have an opportunity to complete a three-game weekend sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Southpaw Jon Lester gets the call as Gerrit Cole looks to redeem himself.

Not only do the Chicago Cubs have themselves a nine-game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central, they are undefeated against the Bucs to begin the year.

On Friday, right-hander Jason Hammel dominated the mound and was backed up by three home runs to claim Game 1 of this series. Jake Arrieta cruised through eight innings of work yesterday afternoon, holding the visiting team to two earned runs on three hits while recording 11 strikeouts.

The city of Chicago continues to dominate the world of professional baseball as both the Cubs (27-8) and White Sox hold the best records.

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Now, the last time Lester (4-1, 1.96 ERA) squared off against the Pirates (18-17), he was tagged for eight hits but worked through 5 2/3 scoreless innings.

He issued two walks, struck out five batters and got himself out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs. Something to appears to be his thing to do at least once everytime he is out there on the mound for skipper Joe Maddon.

Hopefully, he can avoid that this time around. The Pirates are due to take down the Cubbies at any time and Cole (3-3, 3.78 ERA) is itching to get his revenge from the last time these two teams met.

On Monday, May 2nd, the Chicago Cubs absolutely manhandled Pittsburgh’s ace. In only 4 2/3 innings of work, Cole surrendered five earned runs on six hits, including a home run, four walks, and six strikeouts before Clint Hurdle reached into his bullpen.

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This Cubs offense has been silenced only a few times this year and has outscored the Pirates 37-11. If they are able to pull off today’s sweep, it will bring them up to six sweeps on the year as they have only dropped a series to the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:20 p.m. central time and will air live on CSN, 670 The Score. Here’s how both teams will look when they take the field.