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Pittsburgh Pirates Vs. Chicago Cubs Odds, TV/Radio, And Preview

By Larry Snyder

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The Pittsburgh Pirates (17-18) begin their third series with National League Central Division rival, the Chicago Cubs (19-15) Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. The Bucs are 3-4 against Chicago this season.

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After this weekend, Clint Hurdle‘s squad will not be back to Chicago’s North Side till Sept. 25-27 to close out the road portion of the 2015 season. Pittsburgh is 3-2 in their last five games and 5-5 in their last 10 contests. Following this weekend, the crew of the Jolly Roger will not play another team from the Central until Monday, June 8 at PNC Park against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Following Thursday’s 4-2 loss on the road against the Phillies, Hurdle told the team web site, “Our overall game needs to tighten up. We’re hovering around .500 for a reason.”

The Cubs are coming off a 6-5 victory at home Thursday, and a four-game sweep of the New York Mets. It was a special day for Joe Maddon, 61, as he collected his 800th career win, which puts him eighth among active managers.

Maddon has 19 victories with the Cubs. He was 8-14 in 1996 and 19-10 in 1999 as an interim manager with the Angels. The Hazelton, Penna. native went 754-705 in nine seasons with the Rays from 2006-2014.

When: Friday, May 15

First Pitch: 2:20 p.m. ET

Site: Wrigley Field

Playing Surface: Natural Grass

Television Coverage: ROOT Sports Network

Radio Coverage: KDKA-FM 93.7 – The Fan

Announcers: Greg Brown, Tim Neverett, Bob Walk, and John Wehner

Live (Pay) Streaming: MLB.TV

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Pittsburgh Pirates

Online Highlights: Pirates Video

Sirius XM Satellite Radio: XM Internet 861

All-Star Vote: 2015 Pirates Ballot

Odds: Pirates +1.5 According To OddsShark.com and the Over/Under is at 8.5.

Weather Forecast: According to the Weather Channel, the forecast is calling for mostly cloudy skies with a chance of a morning shower. The high today is to be 76. Chance of rain is 20%.

Starting Pitchers: Chicago will go with Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 4.65 ERA/1.29 WHIP). The 6-foot-3, 190-pound righthander in two starts against the Pirates this season is 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA.

Pittsburgh will counter with lefthander Jeff Locke (2-2, 4.71 ERA/1.35 WHIP). The 27-year-old will be making his seventh start of the season. His last start was a no decision in the Pirates 4-3 victory last Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The 6-foot, 195-pound righthander is 1-2 with a 5.11 ERA in seven career starts against the Cubs.

Pirates Spotlight: Coming into Friday, Arquimedes Caminero has surrendered three runs and issued one walk in his last nine appearances. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound righthander has struck out 11 over 9.1 innings of work. Hitters are 13-for-56 against him for a .232 batting average. The Dominican Republic native has put up a 4.20 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP so far this season.

Next Matchup: Pittsburgh and Chicago will meet in the middle game of their three-game series Saturday afternoon. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs will send lefthander Jon Lester (3-2, 4.10 ERA/1.34 WHIP) to the mound, and the Bucs will counter righthander Gerrit Cole (5-1, 2.32 ERA/1.13 WHIP). The game will be broadcast nationally on FOX Sports 1.

Beyond The Scoreboard: Pittsburgh’s largest come from behind victory this season was by three runs on Thursday, April 23 against Chicago…The longest streak of consecutive innings with out an error for the Pirates is 71 from April 10-18…The most stolen bases in a single game this season by the Bucs is three. They accomplished it against the Brewers Friday, April 17 and again Thursday, May 7 against the Reds…This season Francisco Liriano has the most strikeouts in a game with 10 on Friday, May 8 against the Cardinals.

Next: Hounds return home seeking elusive 90-minute consistency

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