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	Chicago Cubs (18-26)
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Sat. 5/18	Sun. 5/19	Tue. 5/21	Wed. 5/22	Thu. 5/23
vs. NYM W 8-2 Box \| Recap	vs. NYM L 3-4 Box \| Recap	@ Pit L 4-5 Box \| Recap	@ Pit 4:05 PM PT5:05 PM MT6:05 PM CT7:05 PM ET19:05 ET23:05 GMT7:05 CST4:05 PM MST6:05 PM EST6:35 PM VEN3:05 UAE (+1)6:05 PM CT Preview	@ Pit 9:35 AM PT10:35 AM MT11:35 AM CT12:35 PM ET12:35 ET16:35 GMT0:35 CST9:35 AM MST11:35 AM EST12:05 PM VEN20:35 UAE11:35 AM CT

Cubs-Pirates Preview

(AP) -- Pitching has been vital to the Pittsburgh Pirates' recent surge, but improvement from the offense may be more important to beating Chicago Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija for the first time.

Francisco Liriano will try to keep the Pirates cruising on the mound as they attempt to finally solve Samardzija on Wednesday night.

Pittsburgh is 9-2 over its last 11 games thanks in large part to a 2.34 ERA while limiting opponents to a .223 average.

Leaders
AVG:	D. DeJesus	.299
HR:	A. Rizzo	10
RBI:	A. Rizzo	30
SB:	A. Soriano	5
W:	S. Feldman	4
ERA:	S. Feldman	2.19
Saves:	K. Gregg	6
K:	J. Samardzija	64

Central Division
Team	W	L	Pct	GB
St. Louis	29	16	.644	-
Cincinnati	28	18	.609	1.5
Pittsburgh	27	18	.600	2
Chi Cubs	18	26	.409	10.5
Milwaukee	18	26	.409	10.5
Full Standings

General Batting (Rank)
AVG:	.250 (16)
Runs:	177 (23)
Hits:	374 (18)
Home Runs:	48 (14)
Stolen Bases:	29 (10)
OBP:	.303 (26)
SLG:	.418 (9)
Total Bases:	626 (14)

General Pitching (Rank)
Earned Run Average:	3.71 (11)
Runs Allowed:	181 (11)
Saves:	10 (20)
Strikeouts:	326 (18)
OpBA:	.234 (3)
OBP:	.309 (10)
SLG:	.376 (5)
Run Support:	4.07 (21)

Transactions
Date	Player	Transactions
5/21	M. Bowden	Designated for Assignment
5/21	M. Garza	Recalled From Minors Rehab Assignment
5/21	M. Garza	Removed From 15-Day DL (Strained left lat)
5/21	E. Sanchez	Acquired Off Waivers From St. Louis
5/21	E. Sanchez	Sent to Minors
Show Transactions

Injuries
Date	Player	Status
4/14	S. Clevenger	Left oblique strain (on 60-day DL)
4/13	K. Fujikawa	off 15-day DL
3/31	S. Baker	Strained right elbow (on 60-day DL)
3/31	D. Barney	off 15-day DL
3/27	A. Vizcaino	Recovery from right elbow surgery (on 60-day DL)
Show Injuries

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