{"id":251139,"date":"2026-07-24T14:10:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/251139\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T14:10:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:10:28","slug":"chicago-cubs-pittsburgh-pirates-series-preview-july-24-26-overview-game-and-broadcast-info-starting-pitchers-w2w4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/251139\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh Pirates \u2013 Series Preview (July 24-26): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4 –"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

The Cubs (57-45) dropped two out of three to the Tigers at Wrigley Field after winning three consecutive series. They came up short in an extra-innings contest on Monday and could not get the offense into gear in a loss on Wednesday. Now they head on the road for a pair of matchups within the division beginning Friday with three against the Pirates at PNC Park.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh (53-50) is right in the middle of the Wild Card race thanks to a very potent offensive attack with the third-best team OPS in baseball (.763). They are currently missing two of their better hitters with Spencer Horwitz<\/a> and Oneil Cruz<\/a> on the injured list, but Bryan Reynolds<\/a> has really come on with 14 homers and an .853 OPS, while Brandon Lowe<\/a> has been a major power threat with 21 dingers.<\/p>\n

The Bucs\u2019 talent-laden pitching staff has been a bit disappointing so far in 2026 with a 4.26 team ERA that ranks 18th in MLB. Reigning Cy Young<\/a> winner Paul Skenes<\/a> has a 3.43 ERA and eight losses, but can still be unhittable when he\u2019s on. Braxton Ashcraft<\/a> is another hard-throwing starter who has been pretty good, almost matching Skenes\u2019 strikeout total this season.<\/p>\n

The bullpen has been a sore spot for the Pirates with a 4.42 ERA that sits just 22nd in baseball. Gregory Soto<\/a> is far from automatic as the closer, and the most effective setup guy, Evan Sisk<\/a>, is out injured.<\/p>\n

The Cubs have gone 3-4 against Pittsburgh so far in 2026, so it\u2019s been a highly competitive season series. This is an opportunity to maintain some distance from a squad that will probably be at their heels through September. Craig Counsell<\/a>\u2018s crew has had some issues inside the division in the first half, and it\u2019s something they should try to clean up down the stretch because every series is important.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Game Time and Broadcast Info<\/p>\n

Friday, July 24 at 5:40pm CT on Marquee.
\nSaturday, July 25 at 5:40pm CT on Marquee.
\nSunday, July 26 at 12:35pm CT on Marquee.<\/p>\n

Starting Pitchers<\/p>\n

What to Watch For<\/p>\n

Follow Us<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Google
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Flipboard\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cubs (57-45) dropped two out of three to the Tigers at Wrigley Field after winning three consecutive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[89219,107350,73,75,74,73602],"class_list":["post-251139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-ian-happ","tag-james-triantos","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-shota-imanaga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}