Baseball is king this Friday night, as the MLB serves up a pair of high-quality games that’ll surely keep you on the edge of your seats.
Our first game features Jake Arrieta and the rest of the NL-Central-leading Chicago Cubs taking on a very familiar foe in the form of the Pittsburgh Pirates. This will be the first meeting of a three-game series at PNC Park. Which club will deliver the first blow?
Later on, more action is head your way at Kauffman Stadium, where the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals lock horns for the second encounter of a long four-game set. The latter won the opener yesterday, 4-3, and it’ll be interesting to if the Mariners can answer back with Hisashi Iwakuma on the mound.
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The Chicago Cubs will send forth Jake Arrieta (12-3, 2.33 ERA) on the mound in tonight’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Arrieta, surprisingly, has lost his form lately, allowing a total of 12 hits, nine earned runs and seven walks in his last two starts versus the Mets and Reds—both on the road. Well now, he has a very good chance for redemption against the Bucs, whom the 30-year-old righty has really fared well against. He is 9-1 with a 1.46 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and .164 opponents’ batting average across 12 career starts in this matchup.
Over at the Pirates’ side, expect to see Francisco Liriano (5-8, 5.34 ERA) handling the ball. He’ll be looking to build on the team’s 6-3 victory versus Oakland last Sunday. In that outing, Liriano registered five innings of three-run ball to pick up his fifth win of the season. He is also 5-4 with a 3.36 ERA through 13 career starts against the Cubs.
Taking the hill for the Seattle Mariners is Hisashi Iwakuma (8-6, 4.43 ERA) for this evening’s second meeting of a four-game set versus the reigning World Series champion Kansas City Royals.
Iwakuma should be in line for a strong outing considering that he holds a solid track record against the Royals. The 35-year-old veteran is 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and .204 opponents’ batting average in four career starts in that particular matchup. However, he’s given up 16 hits and six earned runs in his past two starts.
Meanwhile, the Royals are pinning their hopes on Yordano Ventura (6-6, 5.26 ERA) to lead them on the mound. He logged in just 2 2/3 innings in Sunday’s 7-2 loss to the Phillies thanks to a right ankle sprain. Well, the 25-year-old right-hander wouldn’t have lasted any longer since he already allowed four earned runs during that match.
