Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is the healthier club walking in, even after losing ace Mitch Keller for the year and placing Braxton Ashcraft on the injured list this week — the group behind them has strung together its best stretch of ball in months, sweeping a three-game set on Chicago's South Side before hopping across town.
Whatever's driving Pittsburgh's turnaround, it isn't facing a murderer's row — the White Sox they just swept are among the league's weakest lineups. Still, a team playing loose baseball on the road carries some real feel into a place like Wrigley, and the Cubs have looked nothing like the club that was near the top of the division earlier this summer.
The injury report explains a lot of Chicago's slide. Swanson's absence up the middle has rippled through the infield, and a bullpen already without Hunter Harvey and Riley Martin for the year just lost Ben Brown to a season-ending neck issue as well. Manager Craig Counsell has been mixing and matching relievers by necessity, not preference, in recent games.
Pittsburgh isn't fully healthy either — Keller's extended absence has reshaped the rotation, and closer Kirby Yates just went down with a shoulder impingement — but a fresher bullpen picture right now gives the Pirates a puncher's chance on the road. First pitch comes under mostly sunny skies and a mild 76 degrees for what should be a competitive getaway-day matinee.