Chicago Cubs vs Pittsburgh Pirates – Series Preview (August 15-17): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs’ (68-52) struggles continue as they lost a third consecutive series to the Blue Jays in Toronto. The big bats in the middle of the order are all ice cold, and it has ground Chicago’s offense to a complete halt in the second half. Craig Counsell and company hope a return home to Wrigley and a matchup with the reeling Pirates starting this Friday will spark the lineup.
Pittsburgh (51-71) traded away almost anyone of value at the deadline and just got blasted by the unstoppable Brewers in Milwaukee. The pitching staff has been decent, with a 4.06 team ERA that is 17th best in baseball. The Cubs catch a big break by avoiding ace Paul Skenes, who has been dominant this year but won’t pitch in this series.
The Pirates’ bullpen has been weakened by the trade of closer David Bednar and has been hemorrhaging runs recently. The rest of the rotation behind Skenes has also had a rough go in the second half. This is the kind of opponent that could help a team that is struggling to score.
Their offense has been absolutely dreadful in 2025 with an MLB-worst .650 team OPS. Power is even more lacking with just 86 total homers, almost 20 fewer than any other team in the league. Outfielder Bryan Reynolds is probably the biggest threat in the lineup with 13 home runs and a .709 OPS.
Veteran Andrew McCutchen is still an occasionally productive hitter in the Pirates lineup, especially against lefties. The other legitimate power threat on the roster, Oneil Cruz, is currently on the injured list with a concussion.
The North Siders are probably in their roughest patch of the season, and it’s getting to be more than a minor concern. This feels like an important series for the Cubs to try to recapture some of the form they showed in the first half of the season. If they don’t take at least two of three from this wounded Pittsburgh squad, the concern will start moving towards significant.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, August 15 at 1:20pm CT on MLB Network and Marquee.
- Saturday, August 16 at 1:20pm CT on FS1 and Marquee.
- Sunday, August 17 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 8/15 | Colin Rea | 35 | R | 4.09 | 9-5 | 4.67 | 2.74 |
| TBD | |||||||
| 8/16 | Shōta Imanaga | 31 | L | 3.19 | 8-5 | 4.33 | 4.65 |
| Mike Burrows | 25 | R | 4.66 | 1–4 | 4.66 | 2.76 | |
| 8/17 | Javier Assad | 28 | R | 9.00 | 0–1 | 6.86 | 2.00 |
| Andrew Heaney | 34 | L | 4.99 | 5–10 | 5.52 | 2.18 |
What to Watch For
- Kyle Tucker went 0-for-11 against the Blue Jays and is hitting .167 in August.
- Assad gave up four runs in four innings in his season debut on Monday.
- Nico Hoerner has six hits and three stolen bases in his last four games .
- Michael Busch has homered in consecutive games.
