After 'gutsy, blue-collar win,' Pirates vie for rare sweep of Cubs

Konnor Griffin was 13 the last time the Pittsburgh Pirates swept the Chicago Cubs in a series.

The Pirates and their soon-to-be 20-year-old shortstop will look to leave Chicago with three straight wins when the National League Central rivals conclude their series on Sunday.

Griffin, who signed a nine-year, $140 million deal on Wednesday, is part of a youth movement in Pittsburgh that's seen the club win eight of its past 10 games.

The Pirates won 4-3 in 11 innings on Saturday, giving manager Don Kelly's group an opportunity for its first series sweep over Chicago since August 2019.

Pittsburgh scored the go-ahead run on Saturday on a throwing error to record the win despite leaving 13 men on base.

"That's a gutsy, blue-collar win coming into Chicago in this environment," Kelly said. "We need to continue to grind it out with runners in scoring position and add on earlier in the game, but we'll take a win any way we can get it."

Bubba Chandler (0-1, 3.12 ERA) will make his third start of the season for the Pirates, looking to complete five innings for the first time in 2026. The right-hander has thrown 4 1/3 frames in each of his first two outings, including a 5-0 loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday.

Chandler allowed three runs on five hits and four walks in that setback before being taken out after 83 pitches. The 23-year-old is determined to fare better on Sunday after a disappointing last effort.

"Pretty bad," Chandler said of his last start. "Giving up hits is fine. That stuff is going to happen, but not competing in the zone is just pathetic and it's eating at me and I'm going to fix it. It won't happen again."

After debuting last August, Chandler will face the Cubs for the first time in his young career.

The Cubs are 15-for-74 (.202) at the plate in the series and have left 27 men on base through two games. Chicago's starting pitching has allowed just three runs in 11 innings against Pittsburgh.

Sunday starter Jameson Taillon (0-1, 2.53) wants to see his fastball velocity continue to tick up. The 34-year-old right-hander's four-seamer hung around 91 mph the last time out in a 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. Taillon allowed four runs (three earned) across six innings, striking out four.

"It's still not where I want it to be long term, but we're doing a lot of good work," Taillon said of his fastball. "I know at the end of the day, I can go out there and execute with six pitches. There's going to come a point in time where hopefully it's up to where I want it to be. In the meantime, I can't catch myself searching for it. I need to go out there and execute pitches, whether it's 90-91 or 93 (miles per hour)."

Taillon will make his 83rd start in a Cubs uniform, surpassing the 82 he had with Pittsburgh from 2016-19. He has faced the Pirates seven times, going 4-2 with a 3.64 ERA.

--Field Level Media