Chicago Cubs Lineup (7/24/26): Boyd Bump Day Against Bucs
The Savannah Bananas have invaded Wrigley Field this weekend, so it’s fitting that the Cubs are in Pittsburgh to play a team with yellow as one of its primary colors. The Pirates have been playing well of late, going 6-4 over their last 10 to move past the Cardinals into third place in the division. They’ve also scored more runs than anyone else in the division, and their 543 mark trails only the Nationals’ 567 for tops in MLB. If their dynamic young pitching staff starts clicking, the Bucs could be dangerous.
Matthew Boyd is making his sixth start since coming off the IL, and the results have been a teeter-totter. He went 4.2 shutout innings, then gave up three runs in five frames before sandwiching a four-run start between another scoreless appearance and a one-run effort. He’s fresh and should be sharp tonight.
He’s backed by Pete Crow-Armstrong in center, Seiya Suzuki in right, Michael Busch at first, and Alex Bregman at third. Ian Happ is in left, Nico Hoerner is at second, Pedro Ramírez is the DH, and Carson Kelly does the catching. Dansby Swanson rounds things out at short. Depending on how things go, we could see the MLB debut of James Triantos, who was officially promoted this afternoon.
Going for the Pirates is 24-year-old Jared Jones, who made 22 starts in 2024 before losing all of last season and the first two months this year to elbow reconstruction. He certainly hasn’t lost a beat, coming out firing a fastball that averages just shy of 99 mph with a 90 mph banger of a slider. Jones’s strikeout rate is higher than before, his walk rate is lower, and he’s giving up less hard contact.
His 4.05 ERA is elevated by two starts in which he gave up five earned runs, but those came in his first four starts back. Since the second of them on June 15, he’s allowed only six total earned runs over five starts. Three of those came in one game, so he’s been very good on the whole. Jones has also allowed only 10 hits over his last five starts, with four coming in that three-run game.
He strikes out four times as many batters as he walks because he’s confident in his ability to beat hitters in the zone. Righties will see fastball/slider with a few changeups and curves mixed in, while lefties will get fewer sliders and more of those other secondaries. Jones is putting up traditional splits, which makes sense with his velo and the heavy usage of his two best pitches to right-handed batters, so PCA and Busch may have to do the heavy lifting tonight.
Happ has experienced a lot of success against Jones in the past, with a homer as one of his five hits in 12 at-bats. Swanson has two homers, Suzuki has one, and Hoerner is 3-for-8 with two doubles, so maybe the splits won’t matter after all. Because those samples are most definitely indicative of future results.
First pitch is at 5:40pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
