Pittsburgh @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( May 15, 2015 ) Pittsburgh 10, Chi. Cubs 11

It has been nearly four years since the Chicago Cubs won six straight games, a goal the resurgent bunch will try to attain in the continuation of a three-game series with the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field on Saturday. Following a four-game home sweep of the New York Mets in a set that featured three nail-biters, the Cubs picked up another by outlasting the Pirates on Friday with an 11-10 win in 12 innings.

The five-game run matches their longest since a seven-game streak in the summer of 2011. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant - batting second and third, respectively, for the third time this season - both homered and combined for six RBIs on Friday. Chicago is 7-3 when Rizzo hits second and is now 5-3 against the Pirates, who fell to 0-5 in extra-inning affairs. Pittsburgh looks to turn things around by giving the ball to Gerrit Cole, who has been dominant in Chicago over the course of his career, against Cubs southpaw Jon Lester.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1, ABC 7 (Chicago)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (5-1, 2.32 ERA) vs. Cubs LH Jon Lester (3-2, 4.10)

After giving up a total of three earned runs over his final four starts in April, Cole has let up five runs in 12 innings over two May outings, gathering a win with a solid effort at Philadelphia on Monday. That start left him at 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA over his last three road starts, which includes six innings of an 8-1 win at Wrigley Field on April 29, when he yielded an unearned run on three hits with eight strikeouts. Overall, the 24-year-old is 4-0 with a 3.00 mark in four career starts in Chicago's North Side.

Following a winless April in which he posted a 6.23 ERA, Lester has won each of his three starts this month and extended the run with six innings of three-run ball in a 4-3 victory over the New York Mets on Monday. This will mark the sixth home start out of eight altogether for Lester, who lost his only prior outing against Pittsburgh in 2011 when he let up two earned runs in six innings of a 3-1 setback. Lester needs three strikeouts to become the 200th pitcher to reach 1,500 for his career.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen has two homers and eight RBIs over his last five games.

2. Cubs SS Starlin Castro is 5-for-11 with a walk against Cole.

3. Seven of Chicago's eight wins in May have come by one run.

PREDICTION: Cubs 4, Pirates 3