North Shore Nine

Chicago Cubs (22-16, 2nd, National League Central) at Pittsburgh Pirates (17-21, 3rd, National League Central)

Game Time 6:40 PM EDT
PNC Park
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Watch
Cubs – Marquee Sports Network
Pirates – SportsNet-PIT

Listen
Cubs – 670 The Score
Pirates – KDKA-FM 93.7

Probable Starters:
PIT – Jared Jones (2-3 2.63 ERA)
CHC – Javier Assad (3-0 1.66 ERA)

Jared Jones will make his 8th start of the season, and his second against the NL Central. Last time he faced a Central foe, he tossed six innings of one run ball and struck out seven.

Javier Assad has been nothing short of spectacular for the Cubs thus far. Assad has held opponents to 1 run or less in 5 of his first 7 starts. While his ERA is miniscule, Assad’s FIP is up at 3.24, suggesting he may be benefiting from some good luck. Hopefully that ends today.

Somewhat lost in the Paul Skenes hype, the Pirates also recalled Nick Gonzales. Optioning Alika Williams was the corresponding move. Gonzales will play second base tonight.

A bit of tough luck for Alika to be totally honest. While I think it was the right choice between him and Jared Triolo, Williams hasn’t really put a foot wrong in Pittsburgh. The Pirates just have much more invested in other infielders at this point.

The Pirates also made a minor league roster move shown below. The only consequential bit in the short term is that Jason Delay was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.

Daulton Jefferies was a low-leverage reliever for the Giants this season. He is a former first-round pick of the A’s who has struggled with injuries throughout his career. He had a solid Spring Training this year, posting a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings. That has not carried over into the regular season.

Should be a good Friday night to sit back and enjoy Jared Jones, then we pace and wait for the Paul Skenes debut.

As always, joins fellow Pirates fans in the North Shore Nine Discord.