Pregame Notes: Chicago Cubs look for sweep against Pittsburgh Pirates

Hendricks, Cubs looking for sweep of Bucs

The Chicago Cubs have a rare opportunity, a chance to sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley. How rare? They haven’t had a three-game home sweep in seven years. The Cubs will send

(0-0, 5.74) to the hill, still in search of his first win of 2015. The Pirates will send

(3-0, 2.19), who has never lost to the Cubs, and comes in on a seven-game win streak.

The Cubs (12-7) have been winning by doing a little bit of everything. Solid starting pitching from Jason Hammel and Travis Wood have set the groundwork, the bullpen has steadied itself after a rough stretch–and two outs? Pffft. That’s all the Cubs need, as they scored all six of their runs that way on Tuesday night.

Kris Bryant will be sad to see the Pirates (11-10) go, as he’s 9-for-22 (.409) with three doubles and nine RBIs against Pittsburgh and 5-for-18 (.277) with one RBI against the rest of the league. For Hendricks, he didn’t factor in the decision last time out against the Bucs, going 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits.

Cole will be looking to win his first six against the Cubs, which hasn’t happened since Dock Ellis won in his first seven matchups versus San Diego from 1969-71. In the five wins, he’s 3-0 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Andrew McCutchen is only two hits away from 1,000 for his career.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT at Wrigley Field.

Here are the lineups for tonight’s series finale: