Gameday 45: Jared Jones on the mound as the Pirates travel to Chicago to face the Cubs

Jones makes second straight start against the Cubs

May 16, 2024

The Pittsburgh Pirates road trip continues against another divisional opponent, with a four-game set in Chicago to face the Cubs.

It’s the same team that the Pirates wrapped up their home stand against, losing two of three.

That series saw the debut of 2023 first overall pick, Paul Skenes. He is currently scheduled to make his second start on Friday.

To kick things off this series will be Jared Jones, who graduated off of MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list recently, and should move off of the rest after today’s start.

Thursday will be the only night game of the series, with an expected start time of 7:40 pm ET.

Pirates Lineup

1B - Connor Joe

DH - Bryan Reynolds

SS - Oneil Cruz

RF - Edward Olivares

3B - Nick Gonzales

C - Yasmani Grandal

LF - Jack Suwinski

CF - Michael A. Taylor

2B - Alika Williams

Cubs Lineup

DH - Mike Tauchman

RF - Seiya Suzuki

CF - Cody Bellinger

3B - Christopher Morel

LF - Ian Happ

1B - Michael Busch

2B - Nick Madrigal

SS - Miles Mastrobuoni

C - Miguel Amaya

Pitching Matchup

PIT - Jared Jones (2-4, 2.68 ERA, 47 IP, 7 BB, 56 K)

CHC - Justin Steele (0-0, 4.73 ERA, 13.1 IP, 4

Yesterday’s Feature

I talked to Jim Horner while I was in Bradenton about Omar Alfonzo, who is coming off being named the Florida State League Player of the Week, and exactly is working so well for him.

Bucs On Deck

Omar Alfonzo showing a 'calmness' at the plate

BRADENTON - Down the stretch of the 2023 season, few hitters were doing as well for the Bradenton Marauders than catcher Omar Alfonzo, son of former big leaguer Eliezer. After an initial 10-game stint that saw him put up a wRC+ of just 46, Alfonzo returned to the FCL for a couple of weeks before finishing the year with Bradenton…

6 months ago · 6 likes · 1 comment · Anthony Murphy

Today’s Feature

Today I took a look a four relievers in the Pirates system that are off to good starts this season.

Bucs On Deck

Pirates' minor league relievers off to a good start

Relievers don’t generally get much attention in the minors, but their roles are still just as vital. Starting pitchers don’t often pitch deep into games, so that leaves a lot of innings still to be covered daily. In the Pirates’ system, a few pitchers coming out of the bullpen have had strong starts this season. Here’s a look at four of …

6 months ago · 4 comments · Anthony Murphy

Support the site by becoming a paid member, and get access to all of our premium content, including our Top 25 list with complete player write-ups and my video breakdowns, which come out weekly.

It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.

Bucs On Deck

Player Observations: Estuar Suero, Miguel Sosa, Jose Regalado

Even though there are a few repeaters, the amount we’ve seen on the Florida Complex League team players is pretty high. So, my trip to Bradenton was an excellent opportunity to see (plus get video) some of the players playing in the FCL. Many people have heard their names, but they haven’t seen many of them in action…

7 months ago · 5 likes · Anthony Murphy

Bucs On Deck

Gameday 45: Jared Jones on the mound as the Pirates travel to Chicago to face the Cubs

Jones makes second straight start against the Cubs

Pirates Lineup

Cubs Lineup

Pitching Matchup

Yesterday’s Feature

Today’s Feature

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