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FinalFinal lineupsNL Central

Chicago Cubs 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 8

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

1:35 PM ET · PNC ParkGame-day snapshot Jul 26, 2:45 PM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 24, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score52
Chicago Cubs
89–73 · 2nd NL Central · T-Score 52
7
7–8
FINAL
Pittsburgh Pirates
82–80 · 3rd NL Central · T-Score 43
8
T-Score43
FINAL

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherPiratesPittsburgh has the stronger starting-pitcher profile: Ashcraft leads in P-Score, WHIP and K/9.
Offense vs handEvenBoth offenses perform near the same level against the opposing starter's handedness.
LineupPiratesThe confirmed Pittsburgh order includes 6 hitters with an OPS above .750 against right-handed pitching.
Recent formCubsChicago has been the better recent team, at 7–3 over the last 10.
Plate disciplineCubsChicago has drawn 455 walks this season, 69 more than Pittsburgh.

Starting pitchers

CHC
Jameson Taillon RHP
Jameson Taillon
Chicago Cubs
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
5.38
195th
WHIP
1.32
141st
K/9
8.13
122nd
BB/9
3.13
130th
P-Score33i
FIP
–
HR/9
2.75
226th
OPS/R
–
IP
72.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
7.82
QUALITY
START %
20%
(1 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
PIT
Braxton Ashcraft RHP
Braxton Ashcraft
Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.95
64th
WHIP
1.17
27th
K/9
10.06
48th
BB/9
2.17
11th
P-Score67i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.24
113th
OPS/R
–
IP
116.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.08
QUALITY
START %
20%
(1 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Ashcraft strikes out 1.9 more batters per nine innings.
·Ashcraft enters with a 3.95 ERA compared with Taillon's 5.38.
·Ashcraft allows the lower home-run rate: 1.24 vs 2.75 per nine.
·Ashcraft allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.17 WHIP compared with 1.32.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Taillon arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam27%91.8
Cutter19%86.3
Sweeper16%80.2
Changeup16%84.5
Curveball11%79.1
Sinker10%91.9
Slider1%82.8
Ashcraft arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam31%97.3
Curveball26%85.0
Slider22%91.8
Sinker17%97.1
Splitter4%91.8

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Cubs vs RHP (Braxton Ashcraft)
3rd
in MLB
0.757OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Pirates vs RHP (Jameson Taillon)
6th
in MLB
0.749OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Chicago CubsOfficial lineupvs RHP Braxton Ashcraft
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Ashcraft (BvP)
1Pete Crow-ArmstrongLCF81.94245.973No MLB historyNo history
2Seiya SuzukiRRF75.84126.797No MLB historyNo history
3Michael BuschL1B65.74520.736No MLB historyNo history
4Ian HappSLF64.73824.816No MLB historyNo history
5Nico HoernerR2B48.6668.665No MLB historyNo history
6Michael ConfortoLDH68.80015.774No MLB historyNo history
7Carson KellyRC56.71210.638No MLB historyNo history
8Pedro RamírezS2B52.7236.662No MLB historyNo history
9Dansby SwansonRSS50.69419.677No MLB historyNo history
1Pete Crow-Armstrong CF · L.280 / .942 · 45 HRvs hand .973 · No MLB history · No history81H-Score2Seiya Suzuki RF · R.270 / .841 · 26 HRvs hand .797 · No MLB history · No history75H-Score3Michael Busch 1B · L.242 / .745 · 20 HRvs hand .736 · No MLB history · No history65H-Score4Ian Happ LF · S.218 / .738 · 24 HRvs hand .816 · No MLB history · No history64H-Score5Nico Hoerner 2B · R.263 / .666 · 8 HRvs hand .665 · No MLB history · No history48H-Score6Michael Conforto DH · L.240 / .800 · 15 HRvs hand .774 · No MLB history · No history68H-Score7Carson Kelly C · R.258 / .712 · 10 HRvs hand .638 · No MLB history · No history56H-Score8Pedro Ramírez 2B · S.261 / .723 · 6 HRvs hand .662 · No MLB history · No history52H-Score9Dansby Swanson SS · R.213 / .694 · 19 HRvs hand .677 · No MLB history · No history50H-Score
Pittsburgh PiratesOfficial lineupvs RHP Jameson Taillon
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Taillon (BvP)
1Jake MangumSCF40.6945.700No MLB historyNo history
2Brandon LoweL2B73.82435.910No MLB historyNo history
3Bryan ReynoldsSLF74.78917.779No MLB historyNo history
4Esmerlyn ValdezRRF72.85517.761No MLB historyNo history
5Ryan O'HearnLRF63.77018.839No MLB historyNo history
6Nick GonzalesR3B52.7556.790No MLB historyNo history
7Jacob GonzalezLSS41.6387.691No MLB historyNo history
8Shawn RossRC—1.00011.000No MLB historyNo history
9Tyler CallihanLLF29.6723.613No MLB historyNo history
1Jake Mangum CF · S.276 / .694 · 5 HRvs hand .700 · No MLB history · No history40H-Score2Brandon Lowe 2B · L.260 / .824 · 35 HRvs hand .910 · No MLB history · No history73H-Score3Bryan Reynolds LF · S.261 / .789 · 17 HRvs hand .779 · No MLB history · No history74H-Score4Esmerlyn Valdez RF · R.232 / .855 · 17 HRvs hand .761 · No MLB history · No history72H-Score5Ryan O'Hearn RF · L.265 / .770 · 18 HRvs hand .839 · No MLB history · No history63H-Score6Nick Gonzales 3B · R.303 / .755 · 6 HRvs hand .790 · No MLB history · No history52H-Score7Jacob Gonzalez SS · L.220 / .638 · 7 HRvs hand .691 · No MLB history · No history41H-Score8Shawn Ross C · R.200 / 1.000 · 1 HRvs hand 1.000 · No MLB history · No history—H-Score9Tyler Callihan LF · L.211 / .672 · 3 HRvs hand .613 · No MLB history · No history29H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseCHCCHC·PITPIT
AVG.251 6th.253 5th
OPS.767 1st.734 6th
Home runs220 3rd186 13th
Runs850 1st767 6th
OBP.339 2nd.330 4th
SLG.428 1st.404 9th
PitchingCHCCHC·PITPIT
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.12vs4.14
CHCPIT
WHIP1.26vs1.30
CHCPIT
K/97.8vs9.3
CHCPIT
HR Allowed231vs155
CHCPIT
BullpenCHCCHC·PITPIT
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA4.42vs4.27
no league rank
Saves36vs41
CHCPIT
ResultsCHCCHC·PITPIT
+5031st
Run differential
+4166th
89–73 Record82–80
7–3 Last 105–5
Last 10 games
Chicago Cubs (7–3)
W
W
L
W
L
W
W
L
W
W
Pittsburgh Pirates (5–5)
L
L
W
L
L
W
W
L
W
W
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
10—3
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Cubs?+
Jameson Taillon (5.38 ERA, 2–5) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Pirates?+
Braxton Ashcraft (3.95 ERA, 9–4) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
1:35 PM ET at PNC Park.
Where is the game being played?+
PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Cubs and Pirates performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Pirates 3–10 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Jameson Taillon is at 33; Braxton Ashcraft is at 67. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.