Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs: Pitching matchups, scouting report and more

Diamondbacks RHP Corbin Burnes (0-1, 5.28) vs. Cubs RHP Colin Rea (0-0, 1.00).

At Wrigley Field: Burnes opens the second leg of the Diamondbacks’ road trip with his third start of the season away from home, and his fourth overall. Burnes got a no-decision in his last start on April 12 against the Brewers in his Diamondbacks home debut. Long part of the National League Central with the Brewers, Burnes faces the Cubs for the 18th time in his career in what will be his 12th start. The last time he started against the Cubs, Burnes, pitching for the Baltimore Orioles, took a loss on July 10, 2024, after pitching six innings and allowing three earned runs with five strikeouts. He’s 2-5 with a career 3.36 earned run average against the Cubs, and is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 10 career appearances at Wrigley Field. … After three relief appearances to start this season, Rea started April 13 against the Dodgers. He pitched 3 ⅔ innings with only a run on four hits allowed. He struck out five in that game, a Cubs win, and should get further stretched out as part of a Chicago starting rotation that is now without Justin Steele for the rest of the season due to elbow surgery. Rea, formerly a Brewers teammate of Burnes’, has a 6.91 ERA in four career appearances against the Diamondbacks.

Saturday, April 19: At Chicago, 11:20 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (1-2, 4.64) vs. Cubs RHP Ben Brown (2-1, 5.09)

Sunday, April 20: At Chicago, 11:20 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (3-1, 5.57) vs. Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (1-1, 5.40).

Monday, April 21: Off

Tuesday, April 22: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (3-1, 3.04) vs. Rays TBA.

The Diamondbacks opened the regular season against the Cubs in Phoenix, splitting the series 2-2. The final game of that series on March 30 saw the Diamondbacks rally from a 6-2 deficit with eight runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on their way to a 10-6 win. Chicago, 2-4 after that Diamondbacks series, is 10-5 since then and holds down first place in the NL Central with a Major League-leading 124 runs scored. … Former Diamondbacks catcher Carson Kelly has a platoon role with Miguel Amaya, and the two have provided plenty of offense. Kelly is batting .407 with a 1.538 OPS in 27 at-bats this season. He has four home runs and hit for the cycle earlier this season against the Athletics in Sacramento. Amaya is batting .283 and the pair has combined for 25 runs batted in. The Cubs have speed on their roster, and prior to games on April 17, led the majors in stolen bases with 29. Pete Crow-Armstrong is the team leader with seven.

— Jose Romero

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks vs Cubs: Pitching matchups, scouting report and more