Chicago Cubs look to sweep Pittsburgh Pirates at home

After a wild one on Saturday night, the Chicago Cubs will go for a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight.

The Cubs (46-20) have absolutely owned the Pirates (33-35) this season, leading the series 7-1. The Pirates have struggled mightily these last couple weeks, falling into third place in the NL Central and a whopping 14 games behind the Cubs.

Taking the mound for the little blue bears tonight will be Kyle Hendricks (4-6, 3.05 ERA), who’s looked as good as any five-man this season. Hendricks, who doesn’t throw the ball especially hard, uses careful pitch placement to induce weak contact to get outs.

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Opposing him will be rookie right-hander, Jameson Taillon. Taillon (1-0, 1.93 ERA), who has been a top pitching prospect for the last five years, has looked impressive thus far. In his last start, Taillon pitched eight scoreless innings against the New York Mets giving up only two hits.

Dexter Fowler will be out of the lineup tonight, nursing a sore right hamstring, though Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports that the injury is not considered serious at this time.

Leading off in Fowler’s wake will be reunited Cub, Chris Coghlan. Coghlan had struggled badly with the Oakland Athletics but hopes that being back with his old team will help him settle in.

Next: Cubs go deep three times in win

Tonight’s game will feature Javier Baez at third base once again. If you didn’t see him play last night, you owe it to yourself to check out his highlights. He plays the game the right way, hard.

He’s extremely aggressive defensively and always willing to do what is necessary at the plate, even if that means laying down a sacrifice bunt, something power hitters are often reluctant to do.

Here are your lineups for tonight.

You can catch the game on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. CT. The crew will also be broadcasting from the bleachers tonight, part of ESPN’s “Sunday from the Seats.” Eamus Catuli!