Chicago Cubs look to avoid sweep as Lester takes the mound

It took over a month last season before the Chicago Cubs lost back-to-back games. But with that out of the way, they’ll look to right the ship as Jon Lester takes the mound looking for his first decision of the year.

For the Chicago Cubs, Jon Lester has looked as good as he did last year, maybe even better. But he’s yet to have anything to show for it as he’s had a no-decision in his first two starts. He’ll face off against Jameson Taillon who has been sharp in his own right as the Cubs look to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Pittsburg Pirates.

The Cubs (6-5) haven’t seen a .500 record since May 10, 2015. They hope not to see it for a while as Lester (0-0, 1.64) looks to stay hot. He’s looking for his first win but has pitched well enough to get one. With the bullpen scuffling the last two games, Maddon will look for Lester to pick up the slack and hopefully get the job done himself.

The Pirates (5-6) will look to Taillon (0-0, 1.38) to pull them even at 6-6 as he hopes to outduel the Cubs ace on Easter Sunday. The Bucs will also be looking for their first sweep of the Cubs since September of 2014. David Freese has been one of the hottest hitters to start the season, and his career against Lester (.357, 5-for-14) would lead one to believe that isn’t going to change.

Don’t blame the bats

For the Cubs, the offense wasn’t the problem yesterday. Kris Bryant hit his first two home runs of the season, and they scored seven runs. But a bullpen that failed to hold two different four-run leads is starting to become a question for at least the fans–if not Joe Maddon as well. Brian Duensing allowed a home run and Pedro Strop gave up the big blast to Cub killer Andrew McCutchen–a three-run shot–that was the difference in the 8-7 loss.

Here are the lineups for today’s Easter Sunday finale:

Today’s finale is a 1:20 p.m. CT first pitch. WGN will have the television coverage, while 670 The Score will have the radio broadcast. Be sure to check back here for post-game coverage as well as other Cubs news and notes from the day.