Boyd, meanwhile, has quietly turned into one of the better stories in the Cubs' clubhouse. He missed nearly 3 weeks in April with a bicep strain and over 6 weeks in May and June with a shoulder issue, but he's posted a 2.08 ERA over his last 4 starts and thrown at least 6 innings in 3 straight. His last time out, he beat the Twins on one run allowed over 6 innings. The stuff is legitimately back.
Where this gets complicated for Chicago is everywhere else on the pitching staff. The Cubs' injury list reads like a bullpen depth chart in itself — Phil Maton, Shelby Miller, Hunter Harvey, Ben Brown, Ethan Roberts, Daniel Palencia and Hoby Milner are all out, and Trent Thornton just got drilled by a comebacker. Craig Counsell has been piecing together relief innings all month, and it showed in Wednesday's 1-5 loss to Detroit that closed out a split series at Wrigley.
Pittsburgh isn't exactly whole either. Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin are both out for the year on the 60-day IL, Endy Rodriguez is nursing a hip issue, and Jake Mangum got scratched from Wednesday's doubleheader with foot discomfort. But the lineup that's still standing has found some thump — the Pirates have hit 15 home runs over their last 10 games and are slugging .448 in that span, a real jump for a team that's leaned on pitching and defense for most of the year.
The Cubs counter with their own recent power binge, an 11-2 blowout of Detroit among the highlights, and they're slugging .422 with 33 extra-base hits over their own last 10. Both offenses have shown they can put crooked numbers on the board in a hurry, which sets up an interesting contrast against two starters who've both been trending the right direction.
First pitch at PNC Park is set for 6:40 PM ET, with Chicago holding a 4-game edge in the standings and looking to avoid a series that slips away the way the Detroit set did. Jones' emergence gives Pittsburgh a puncher's chance to flip the script, but the Cubs have the deeper lineup and, on paper, the healthier version of their starter walking to the mound.