Bucs v Cubs

James McDonald takes the bump this afternoon, facing the Cubs lefty Travis Wood. J-Mac's line was 12-8/4.21 in 2012 while Wood's was 6-13/4.27 in 2012. Root Sports will televise the contest, and it will be broadcast by The Fan 93.7.

Pirate Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Russell Martin C, Andrew McCutchen CF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Neil Walker 2B, Jose Tabata RF, Clint Barmes SS and James McDonald P.

Garrett Jones takes a seat against a lefty, so JT gets to play. He's batting seventh so that catcher Martin can hit in the two hole. That's a bit of a double edged surprise; it should be Mike McKenry's day to catch (day game after night game). Clint has really outdone himself in lineup creativity against the Cubs.

Cubs Lineup: David DeJesus CF, Starlin Castro SS, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Alfonso Siriano LF, Nate Schierholtz RF, Dioner Navarro C, Luis Valbuena 3B, Brent Lillibridge 2B and Travis Wood P.

The Cubs have a pretty top-heavy lineup, so hopefully J-Mac can deal with the top four or five guys and give keep the good outings comin'. Except for one bad pitch to Anthony Rizzo in the first inning of the first game, Buc hurlers have been sharp.

• Cutch became the 29th Pirate to steal at least 100 bases with his swipe last night. He's the first to hit 100 since Jason Kendall did it in 2001. He likes playing the Cubs. In 58 games against them, Cutch has a .332 BA with nine home runs and 31 RBI.
• With their loss last night, the Cubs have now gone 18 consecutive years without a 2-0 start.
• It's opening day for the minors. Indy hosts Columbus, with LHP Andy Oliver on the mound. Altoona visits Erie and will work behind RHP Brandon Cumpton. Bradenton takes a trip to Fort Myers with RHP Robby Rowland on the bump. West Virginia is home to take on Ashville with LHP Joely Rodriguez doing the honors.