INDEPENDENT MLB ANALYTICSINDEPENDENT ANALYTICS
ETLATYOBERLON
FinalFinal lineupsNL Central

Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Chicago Cubs 3

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

2:20 PM ET · Wrigley FieldGame-day snapshot Sep 13, 5:25 PM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 27, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score43
Pittsburgh Pirates
82–80 · 3rd NL Central · T-Score 43
4
4–3
FINAL · 9 innings
Chicago Cubs
89–73 · 2nd NL Central · T-Score 52
3
T-Score52
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Bubba ChandlerPIT
StarterWin
5.1534390
Mason MontgomeryPIT
ReliefSave
1.000007
Matthew BoydCHC
StarterLoss
5.1742388
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
PITPittsburgh Pirates100003000490
CHCChicago Cubs000021000350
Top hitters
Miguel Amaya2-for-3 · 1 HR · 2 RBI
Brandon Lowe1-for-2 · 2 RBI
Bryan Reynolds2-for-4 · 1 RBI · 1 R · 1 BB
Nick Gonzales1-for-4 · 1 RBI · 1 R
Nico Hoerner0-for-4 · 1 RBI

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherEvenBoth starters enter with comparable season profiles; neither holds a meaningful statistical advantage.
Offense vs handCubsChicago has produced the stronger offense against right-handed pitching.
LineupPiratesPittsburgh's official lineup includes 5 right-handed bats against the opposing starter.
Starter formPiratesChandler has a 4.21 ERA over his last five starts, while Boyd is at 5.46.
WeatherModerate impactA 7 mph wind could modestly increase carry on fly balls.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

PIT
Bubba Chandler RHP
Bubba Chandler
Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.25
139th
WHIP
1.34
156th
K/9
8.18
112th
BB/9
4.50
208th
P-Score51i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.82
42nd
OPS/R
–
IP
142.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.21
QUALITY
START %
20%
(1 of 5)
DAYS
REST
5
CHC
Matthew Boyd LHP
Matthew Boyd
Chicago Cubs
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.03
93rd
WHIP
1.22
76th
K/9
7.08
178th
BB/9
2.72
72nd
P-Score52i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.23
89th
OPS/R
–
IP
109.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
5.46
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Boyd walks 1.8 fewer batters per nine innings.
·Chandler owns a 8.2 K/9 compared with Boyd's 7.1.
·Chandler allows the lower home-run rate: 0.82 vs 1.23 per nine.
·Boyd has produced a quality start in 40% of outings versus 20%.

Pirates at Cubs — Baseball's Best Offense Against a Lineup That Has Gone Quiet

Chicago leads the majors in runs per game at 5.34, on-base at .340 and OPS at .771. Pittsburgh has won six of 10 anyway, scoring just 3.20 per game while doing it, which points at its pitching rather than its bats. Matthew Boyd's 4.03 ERA is the thinner half of his profile — a 4.41 FIP, and a 5.46 stretch over his last five with his strikeout rate down to 6.1 per nine. Bubba Chandler walks 4.5 per nine on the season and has reached the quality-start mark in only 19% of his 27 starts, though his 4.10 FIP sits under Boyd's. Chicago's bullpen has thrown 5.1 innings in three days; Pittsburgh's, 9.0.

Written by PitcherStat ·

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Chandler arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam48%98.3
Slider21%91.1
Changeup14%91.5
Sinker8%97.7
Curveball4%86.8
Sweeper4%87.8
Boyd arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam44%92.8
Changeup28%78.7
Slider14%83.1
Curveball12%73.1
Sinker1%91.9

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Pirates vs LHP (Matthew Boyd)
17th
in MLB
0.701OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Cubs vs RHP (Bubba Chandler)
3rd
in MLB
0.757OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 13, 12:25 PM ET
PITPIT
.734
−40 ptsOPS edge
CHCCHC
.774

Slight edge: CHC

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Pittsburgh PiratesOfficial lineupvs LHP Matthew Boyd
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Boyd (BvP)
1Konnor GriffinRSS48.7286.822No MLB historyNo history
2Oneil CruzLCF74.85420.8491-for-7Very small sample
3Bryan ReynoldsSLF74.78917.8241-for-2Very small sample
4Rafael Flores Jr.RC66.85811.8091-for-2Very small sample
5Nick GonzalesR3B52.7556.6532-for-3Very small sample
6Ryan O'HearnLRF63.77018.6301-for-3Very small sample
7Jake MangumSCF40.6945.6752-for-2Very small sample
8Jared TrioloRSS37.6093.6881-for-2Very small sample
9Henry DavisRC47.58510.3700-for-2Very small sample
1Konnor Griffin SS · R.272 / .728 · 6 HRvs hand .822 · No MLB history · No history48H-Score2Oneil Cruz CF · L.280 / .854 · 20 HRvs hand .849 · 1-for-7 · Very small sample74H-Score3Bryan Reynolds LF · S.261 / .789 · 17 HRvs hand .824 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample74H-Score4Rafael Flores Jr. C · R.264 / .858 · 11 HRvs hand .809 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample66H-Score5Nick Gonzales 3B · R.303 / .755 · 6 HRvs hand .653 · 2-for-3 · Very small sample52H-Score6Ryan O'Hearn RF · L.265 / .770 · 18 HRvs hand .630 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample63H-Score7Jake Mangum CF · S.276 / .694 · 5 HRvs hand .675 · 2-for-2 · Very small sample40H-Score8Jared Triolo SS · R.238 / .609 · 3 HRvs hand .688 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample37H-Score9Henry Davis C · R.172 / .585 · 10 HRvs hand .370 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample47H-Score
Chicago CubsOfficial lineupvs RHP Bubba Chandler
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Chandler (BvP)
1Pete Crow-ArmstrongLCF81.94245.9731-for-4Very small sample
2Seiya SuzukiRRF75.84126.7970-for-6Very small sample
3Michael BuschL1B65.74520.7360-for-2Very small sample
4Alex BregmanR3B73.81928.7991-for-4Very small sample
5Ian HappSLF64.73824.8161-for-5Very small sample
6Nico HoernerR2B48.6668.6653-for-6Very small sample
7Michael ConfortoLDH68.80015.7740-for-2Very small sample
8Pedro RamírezS2B52.7236.662No MLB historyNo history
9Miguel AmayaRC46.7176.701No MLB historyNo history
1Pete Crow-Armstrong CF · L.280 / .942 · 45 HRvs hand .973 · 1-for-4 · Very small sample81H-Score2Seiya Suzuki RF · R.270 / .841 · 26 HRvs hand .797 · 0-for-6 · Very small sample75H-Score3Michael Busch 1B · L.242 / .745 · 20 HRvs hand .736 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample65H-Score4Alex Bregman 3B · R.265 / .819 · 28 HRvs hand .799 · 1-for-4 · Very small sample73H-Score5Ian Happ LF · S.218 / .738 · 24 HRvs hand .816 · 1-for-5 · Very small sample64H-Score6Nico Hoerner 2B · R.263 / .666 · 8 HRvs hand .665 · 3-for-6 · Very small sample48H-Score7Michael Conforto DH · L.240 / .800 · 15 HRvs hand .774 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample68H-Score8Pedro Ramírez 2B · S.261 / .723 · 6 HRvs hand .662 · No MLB history · No history52H-Score9Miguel Amaya C · R.237 / .717 · 6 HRvs hand .701 · No MLB history · No history46H-Score

Team comparison

OffensePITPIT·CHCCHC
AVG.253 5th.251 6th
OPS.734 6th.767 1st
Home runs186 13th220 3rd
Runs767 6th850 1st
OBP.330 4th.339 2nd
SLG.404 9th.428 1st
PitchingPITPIT·CHCCHC
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.14vs4.12
PITCHC
WHIP1.30vs1.26
PITCHC
K/99.3vs7.8
PITCHC
HR Allowed155vs231
PITCHC
BullpenPITPIT·CHCCHC
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.96vs3.91
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.30vs1.27
no league rank
Saves41vs36
PITCHC
ResultsPITPIT·CHCCHC
+4296th
Run differential
+5081st
82–80 Record89–73
6–4 Last 105–5
Last 10 games
Pittsburgh Pirates (6–4)
L
L
W
W
W
W
L
W
W
L
Chicago Cubs (5–5)
W
W
L
L
L
L
W
W
W
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
3—10
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Pirates?+
Bubba Chandler (4.25 ERA, 7–9) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Cubs?+
Matthew Boyd (4.03 ERA, 8–4) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
2:20 PM ET at Wrigley Field.
Where is the game being played?+
Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Pirates and Cubs performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Cubs 10–3 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Bubba Chandler is at 51; Matthew Boyd is at 52. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.