Cubs Visit Bucs, Cool Chad v Montgomery & Notes - Nova on DL, Felipe "Irritation"

Today: The Memorial Day game starts at 1:35 and will be on AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, Austin Meadows RF, Starling Marte CF, J-Bell 1B, Corey Dickerson LF, David Freese 3B, S-Rod SS, Elias Diaz C & Chad Kuhl P. Lefties Gregory and Colin Moran are off against a southpaw. So is Jordy,just as a rest day as he hits LHP better than righties; Clint has to work it now to get S-Rod at-bats with J-Hay's return and AM on the roster. And finally, it seems Cervy is still a little under the weather with the flu bug.

Chad opens against the Cubbies (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pitchers: RHP Chad Kuhl (4-2, 4.20) kicks it off against LHP Mike Montgomery (0-1, 5.33). Cool Chad is still riding on a bumpy road, but his last outing was strong and he's getting more consistent as the season goes on. He's 1-4/8.23 in seven career starts v the Cubbies; he went 1-2/6.35 in four 2017 appearances. This will be his first 2018 outing against the Baby Bruins. Tyler Chatwood was penciled in for this start but was bumped up a day after Yu Darvish went on the DL, so Montgomery got the call. It will be his first opening bell of the year, but he's been a spot starter throughout his career - he made 14 starts last year - so it's not new territory for him. But he hasn't gone more than three innings nor thrown more than 46 pitches in any outing this season, so he probably won't have to worry about seeing the order for a third turn. Mike has worked against the Bucs once this year, giving up three runs in two innings. In seven lifetime appearances (one start), he's 1-0/3.45 v the Buccos.

Notes:

• Felipe Vazquez left the game yesterday with "left forearm discomfort." He told the trainers he felt it during the last two pitches he threw. Makes us wonder how long it's been achy; a bum wing could explain losing two or three ticks off his heater and virtually ditching his slider. He told the beat gang that he feels fine today though he won't be allowed to pitch. The docs said that Vazquez has minor irritation to a flexor muscle and is day-to-day.

Nothing major for Felipe (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

• Ivan Nova was officially placed on the DL (retroactive to 5/25) and Nick Kingham added to the roster; the King will take Nova's rotation turn on Tuesday.
• Clint said he doesn't plan a strict OF rotation, but expects to get Austin Meadows in seven or so of every 10 games. He also warned that despite his en fuego start that there's no guarantee that AM has a secure roster spot for the rest of the year.
• The Cubbies may be a little drowsy today; they played the ESPN Sunday Night Game last night at Wrigley. They beat the Giants 8-3 in a game that ended at 11:40 PM our time. Chicago has been puttering along lately with a 5-5 record in their last 10 games, which is better than the Bucs, who have lost 7-of-9.
• Per @JohnDrecker of Pirates Prospects, today's game will be the 2,500th regular season meeting between the two clubs. They'll be the first pair of teams to reach that rivalry mark in baseball history.