Alex Bregman has been heating up since the All-Star break, and Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell couldn’t be happier.
The three-time All-Star will look to continue his hot hitting on Saturday afternoon as the Cubs chase a series victory against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.
Bregman belted a two-run homer and finished a triple shy of the cycle on Friday afternoon, helping Chicago cruise to a 12-2 romp over Pittsburgh in the opener of a three-game series. The homer was Bregman’s 25th of the season and 16th since the All-Star break.
“It’s kind of been a tale of two halves for him. And that’s just the way it is this year,” Counsell said. “We’re glad the second half is going this way, and we have some games to go with him playing like this. He’s had an Alex Bregman season. … He’s doing what we’d hoped he would do.”
Bregman wasn’t the only one to swing a hot bat on Friday.
Michael Busch drove in three runs and Seiya Suzuki scored three runs and joined Bregman with three hits for the Cubs (82-66), who banged out 16 hits en route to snapping a four-game skid.
Chicago is tied with the Philadelphia Phillies (82-66) for the National League’s top wild-card spot.
The Cubs are expected to be tested on Saturday afternoon against reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.83 ERA).
Skenes scattered four hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. The win was the first for the right-hander since July 19, ending a seven-outing winless run.
Skenes has struggled in two starts versus the Cubs this season, going 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA. All told, he is 2-4 with a 3.45 ERA in nine career appearances (all starts) against Chicago.
Cubs right-hander Clay Holmes (6-7, 2.83 ERA) is expected to get the nod on Saturday.
Holmes strung together four consecutive strong outings before getting shelled for eight runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 10-3 setback to the Miami Marlins on Sunday.
Holmes, a former Pirate, is 0-1 with a 4.22 ERA in six career appearances (one start) versus Pittsburgh.
Rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin tripled and singled on Friday for the Pirates (74-74), who likely will be without Esmerlyn Valdez. The rookie right fielder left the Friday game in the sixth inning due to left hamstring discomfort.
Valdez’s departure came on the same day that Pittsburgh welcomed back Ryan O’Hearn, who was activated off the 10-day injured list. He had been sidelined since July 31 with a left quad injury.
“You love when guys want to push it to get back and just to make sure that he’s in a good spot to be able to do that,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of O’Hearn, who went 0-for-2 on Friday after entering the game as a pinch hitter.
“Confident in him being able to be Ryan O’Hearn and have good at-bats and be able to move around like he does.”
Pirates rookie catcher Rafael Flores Jr. carries a career-best six-game hitting streak into the Saturday contest.
–Field Level Media
