Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CHC	0	0	0	0	3	5	2	1	0	11	16	1
PIT	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1

Shota Imanaga (6-8, 3.91 ERA) gets the ball for Chicago on Saturday, coming off a sharp 7 shutout innings against the Twins where he struck out 4 and walked just 1. He'll face Paul Skenes (9-8, 3.43 ERA), who was every bit as good his last time out — 7 innings, 1 earned run, 8 strikeouts against Cleveland. First pitch is 6:40 PM ET.

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FINAL

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ML

Total

Cubs(57-45)

LWLWW

11

+1.5-190+113o7.5-106

Pirates(53-50)

LWPLW

0

-1.5+186-115u7.5+106

Best BetCubs +104

Pregame

We're staying on the Cubs here. Imanaga's been dealing, Chicago's lineup has more juice up and down, and even with a beat-up bullpen they're the better overall team on paper. Skenes gives Pittsburgh a real shot to steal it, but betting against him is still betting against a top-of-the-rotation arm on a short summer road trip.

Skenes' season has been a strange one. He won the Cy Young last year with almost nothing to show for it in the win column because Pittsburgh couldn't score. That's flipped in 2026 — the Pirates have been feeding him runs at a much healthier clip than a year ago, which explains how he's sitting at 9-8 with an ERA this good. The offense behind him has real juice, with Bryan Reynolds and Brandon Lowe both having big years, and Pittsburgh currently ranks near the top of the league in team OPS.

Shota Imanaga

(8-9)·3.60 ERA

Jul 19 vs Twins

W

7.0IP

0ER

4K

1BB

99P

07/25 Lineup

Paul Skenes

(9-10)·3.96 ERA

Jul 19 @ Guardians

W

7.0IP

1ER

8K

2BB

100P

07/25 Lineup

The Cubs, meanwhile, are dealing with a bullpen that's basically been gutted. Daniel Palencia, Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Ethan Roberts, Riley Martin, Ben Brown and Hoby Milner are all out in some form, which is an absurd number of relievers to be missing at once. Chicago's still 12 games over .500, but that path to the pen late in games looks thinner than it has all year, and it showed when Detroit took 2 of 3 from them at Wrigley just before this trip.

Pittsburgh isn't fully healthy either. Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin are both out long-term, and Endy Rodriguez and Spencer Horwitz are working their way back from the injured list. But the Pirates are reportedly leaning into buyer mode ahead of the trade deadline for the first time in years, chasing bullpen help and rotation depth — a sign the front office thinks this wild card push is worth pushing chips in on.

Chicago Cubs

(57-45)

Jul 23Lvs Tigers1-5

Jul 22Wvs Tigers11-2

Jul 21Lvs Tigers6-8

Jul 19Wvs Twins10-1

Jul 18Wvs Twins6-2

Pittsburgh Pirates

(53-50)

Jul 22L@ Yankees0-2

Jul 22W@ Yankees5-3

Jul 21P@ Yankees0-0

Jul 20L@ Yankees5-8

Jul 19W@ Guardians7-1

Imanaga has historically given Pittsburgh trouble, and if he's locating like he did against the Twins, this could be a low-scoring pitcher's duel early before both bullpens get tested. That's the version of this game neither team wants given how shaky each pen is right now.

Chicago Cubs

(15)

• Day-To-DayTrent Thornton (RP) — Thornton was removed from Monday's game against the Tigers after being struck on the left foot by a comebacker, Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.07/21
• 10-Day-ILMatt Shaw (RF) — Shaw is still feeling discomfort related to his left hand sprain and has yet to resume swinging a bat, Vinnie Duber of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILPhil Maton (RP) — The Cubs placed Maton on the 15-day injured list Monday with right knee tendinitis, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.07/20
• 15-Day-ILBen Brown (RP) — Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Brown (neck) has begun to increase his activity and has taken part in workouts with plyometric balls, MLB.com reports.07/20
• 15-Day-ILEthan Roberts (RP) — Roberts (forearm) tossed a perfect inning in a rehab appearance Sunday with Triple-A Iowa.07/20
• 15-Day-ILDaniel Palencia (RP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Palencia (elbow) is hopeful to return to the Cubs' bullpen in mid-August, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILEdward Cabrera (SP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that the Cubs expect Cabrera (hamstring) to return from the injured list in the second week of August, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILHoby Milner (RP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Milner (abdomen) will likely return from the injured list sometime around Aug. 1, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILRiley Martin (RP) — The Cubs announced June 10 that Martin (elbow) has resumed playing catch, MLB.com reports.06/22
• 60-Day-ILShelby Miller (RP) — The Cubs announced July 5 that Miller (elbow) has resumed a throwing program in Arizona, MLB.com reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILHunter Harvey (RP) — Manager Craig Counsell said July 8 that Harvey (triceps/shoulder) has resumed a throwing program at the Cubs' facility in Arizona, but the right-hander remains without a clear timeline for a return from the 60-day injured list, MLB.com reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILJustin Steele (SP) — Steele (elbow) was cleared to begin ramping up his throwing program Tuesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.07/08
• 60-Day-ILPorter Hodge (RP) — The Cubs transferred Hodge (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Friday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILCade Horton (SP) — The Cubs transferred Horton (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILTyler Austin (1B) — The Cubs placed Austin (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Pittsburgh Pirates

(7)

• Day-To-DayJake Mangum (CF) — Mangum was scratched for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Yankees due to right foot discomfort.07/22
• 10-Day-ILSpencer Horwitz (1B) — Horwitz (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Bradenton on Tuesday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/21
• 10-Day-ILEndy Rodriguez (C) — Rodriguez (hip) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game versus Atlanta.07/08
• 15-Day-ILEvan Sisk (RP) — Sisk was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with left elbow inflammation, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/04
• 60-Day-ILChris Devenski (RP) — Devenski (illness) was sent to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.07/21
• 60-Day-ILOneil Cruz (CF) — The Pirates transferred Cruz (hand) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILKonnor Griffin (SS) — The Pirates transferred Griffin (finger) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/11