Wednesday: Cubbies-Bucs, Cole Train v Jose Quintana, Lineup, Notes (Phils Send Juan Gone to Cards)

Tonight: Game three against Chicago commences at 7:05 and will be on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Jordan Luplow RF, Cutch CF, David Freese 3B, Jose Osuna 1B, Sean Rodriguez 2B, Jordy Mercer SS, Chris Stewart C, Gerrit Cole P. Looks like Clint is going to involve everyone this month (except maybe po' Chris Bostick).

Gerrit on the slab (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pitchers: Gerrit Cole (11-9, 4.11) takes on Jose Quintana (9-11, 4.49). Cole Train has gone 8-3/3.54 over his last 15 starts and been a little streaky while doing it; he was pretty well banged aound by the Reds in his last outing. He's also not been quite all that at home - Gerrit hasn't won at PNC Park since 6/13 vs. Colorado and has slashed 2-5/4.48 in 13 home starts. But he has traditionally been tough on the Cubs. He's 9-3/2.74 in 13 career starts and 1-1/2.38 in two starts this year, winning 4-2 at Wrigley and losing 1-0 at PNC Park, with both games in April. Quintana has been pretty much a quality start guy rather than top ender; both games he's tossed against the Bucs have been the QS epitome - six IP, three runs. He won his only outing against Pittsburgh this year as the Cubs erupted behind him for a 17-3 runaway, though he did his part by surviving a tough start and then mowing down 14 straight Buccos.

Notes:

• The Phils have traded Juan Nicasio to the Cards for a minor-league bubble prospect. So looks like St Louis, not Chicago, is the club that claimed him in August and couldn't strike a deal with the FO. It would make sense the Pirates wouldn't deal within the division; they were hoping to move Nicasio to the AL. The moral of the story: if you're going to move a guy before he walks, do it by July 31st.
• Freeser has cranked out four straight multi-hit games and has a five-game hitting streak.
• J-Bell leads NL rookies in hits (124) and shares lead in RBI (82); he ranks second in HR (24) and total bases (232).
• Fraze is eligible to come off the DL Thursday, but his future status is still TBD.
• Happy Roberto Clemente Day around MLB; the Bucs celebrated with a round of community service projects.