Game 156: Pirates at Cubs

Game to be aired on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. First pitch at 8:05 PM EST.
Probables: AJ Burnett (9-5, 3.15) vs. Jake Arrietta (20-6, 1.88)
Preview:
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/201509...game_pk=415980
"Pirates, Cubs ready to conclude season series
By Greg Garno / MLB.com | + 10 COMMENTS
Sunday marks the regular-season finale between the Cubs and Pirates, but it likely won't be the last time the two teams face each other in 2015. That may come on Oct. 7 in the National League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser.
Chicago and Pittsburgh have already clinched postseason berths with a week left in the regular season, and they hold both NL Wild Card spots. The Cubs sit 5 1/2 games behind the Pirates for home-field advantage in the potential Wild Card Game, and they have an opportunity to make up ground when the series wraps up. Pittsburgh is three games behind the Cardinals for first place in the NL Central, and it will go for its ninth consecutive victory on the road trip.
"We still have a chance to catch the Pirates right now," Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. "That's going to be our objective next, so it's business as usual."
The Cubs lead the season series, 10-8, and they hope starter Jake Arrieta can pick up another win in the process as he searches for No. 21.
"I'll probably come out Sunday and feature some stuff they've never seen before just to kind of mix it up," Arrieta joked. "[Maybe] a knuckleball, a different type of changeup, I don't know.
"I'll sequence some things differently than I have in the past. It's a chess match, really. They've seen what I throw, they know what I throw, but the sequences are the things I constantly change and constantly switch up, and it's hard to find any patterns."
The Pirates send veteran A.J. Burnett to the hill in a bid to stop Arrieta. The 38-year old right-hander is 1-0 with a 1.47 ERA while against the Cubs' ace this season. Burnett is still working his way back after a stint on the disabled list, but he allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings his last outing against Chicago.
"In his mind, he's got nothing to lose," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. "He's healthy, he feels good, he's going to go out and compete."
Things to know about this game
• Should Arrieta win, he'll become the first Cubs player to post more than 20 wins in a season since Ferguson Jenkins went 24-13 in 1971. He's also hoping to break Jenkins' record -- set in '72 -- of five consecutive starts with at least eight innings pitched.
• Burnett could become the 32nd pitcher to record 2,500 strikeouts in his career if he punches out one more batter.
• If Burnett wins, it will mark the fifth time this season the Pirates have swept a series in which Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano and Burnett have pitched.
Greg Garno is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs."