Cubs, Pirates go arms heavy on wild-card rosters

by
Stephen Dunn / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Chicago Cubs will send Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta to the mound for the National League wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but manager Joe Maddon still opted to carry another nine pitchers on his 25-man roster for Wednesday's clash at PNC Park.

PITCHERS

Pos Player Throws
SP Jake Arrieta RHP
SP Kyle Hendricks RHP
SP Jon Lester LHP
RP Trevor Cahill RHP
RP Justin Grimm RHP
RP Clayton Richard LHP
RP Fernando Rodney RHP
CL Hector Rondon RHP
RP Pedro Strop RHP
RP Travis Wood LHP

POSITION PLAYERS

Pos Player B/T
C Miguel Montero L/R
C David Ross R/R
1B Anthony Rizzo L/L
2B Javier Baez R/R
2B Starlin Castro R/R
3B Kris Bryant R/R
3B Tommy La Stella L/R
SS Addison Russell R/R
OF Quintin Berry L/L
OF Chris Coghlan L/R
OF Chris Denorfia R/R
OF Dexter Fowler S/R
OF Austin Jackson R/R
OF Kyle Schwarber L/R
OF Jorge Soler R/R

Though the Pirates will carry only nine pitchers, veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano will be among them, offering manager Clint Hurdle some insurance behind starter Gerrit Cole, who turned 25 last month.

Bobby LaFromboise, however, won't be active for Wednesday's one-game playoff despite crafting a 1.29 ERA with a 7:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 10 appearances for Pittsburgh in September.

PITCHERS

Pos Player Throws
SP Gerrit Cole RHP
SP Francisco Liriano LHP
RP Antonio Bastardo LHP
RP Joe Blanton RHP
RP Arquimedes Caminero RHP
RP Jared Hughes RHP
CL Mark Melancon RHP
RP Joakim Soria RHP
RP Tony Watson LHP

Despite making his MLB debut less than four weeks ago, meanwhile, Elias Diaz will serve as the third catcher on Pittsburgh's roster behind starter Francisco Cervelli and backup Chris Stewart. Keon Broxton, another rookie who debuted last month, could be called upon to pinch-run after swiping 40 bags in 56 attempts across three levels in 2015.

POSITION PLAYERS

Pos Player B/T
C Francisco Cervelli R/R
C Chris Stewart R/R
C Elias Diaz R/R
1B Pedro Alvarez L/R
1B Michael Morse R/R
2B Neil Walker S/R
SS Pedro Florimon S/R
SS Jordy Mercer R/R
3B Josh Harrison R/R
3B Aramis Ramirez R/R
IF/OF Sean Rodriguez R/R
OF Keon Broxton R/R
OF Starling Marte R/R
OF Andrew McCutchen R/R
OF Gregory Polanco L/L
OF Travis Snider L/L

The Digest

NL Wild Card Preview: Cubs-Pirates

by theScore staff
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The MLB postseason continues Wednesday with the National League wild-card game between the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. First pitch is set for 8:00 p.m. ET from PNC Park.

Preview

Tale of the Tape

The Cubs won the season series 11-8 between the two clubs. Here's how they stack up against each other in key statistical categories (MLB rank in parenthesis).

Offense

Team R HR SB OPS
CHC 689 (16) 171 (12) 95 (9) .719 (15)
PIT 691 (11) 140 (23) 98 (7) .719 (15)

Pitching

Team ERA WHIP SO QS
CHC 3.36 (3) 1.15 (1) 1431 (1) 81 (15)
PIT 3.21 (2) 1.24 (10) 1338 (9) 92 (6)

Staff Picks

Editor Pick
Birenbaum Cubs over Pirates
Mcwilliam Cubs over Pirates
Toman Pirates over Cubs
Warren Pirates over Cubs
Wile Cubs over Pirates
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