(Photo credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images)

The Chicago Cubs continue to spiral as they open a four-game series -- and a seven-game road trip -- on Monday afternoon against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

The Cubs will hand the ball to right-hander Ben Brown (1-2, 2.09 ERA) to make his fourth consecutive start since transitioning from the bullpen. Brown will oppose Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (4-3, 3.96) and try to help Chicago avoid its first nine-game skid since July 7-16, 2022.

In Sunday's 8-5 loss to the visiting Houston Astros, Cubs rookie Pedro Ramirez's RBI double and Michael Busch's two-run home run were two of the highlights for the team, which had scored only seven runs over their previous five games.

Ian Happ, who sat out past two games while mired in a 1-for-24 slump, is an example of a key Cubs hitter who has been struggling.

The Cubs, who have put together a pair of 10-game winning streaks this season, suffered their first 0-6 homestand since Sept. 21-26, 2021.

'We're just not playing good baseball,' third baseman Alex Bregman said. 'The last seven or eight games ... I don't know how long it's been, but we're not playing good baseball in all phases. We need to get better and we need to prepare and execute better.'

Chicago also needs to pitch better, as one of its starters once again struggled on Sunday when Shota Imanaga gave up seven runs in six innings. The rotation took a hit Sunday when Edward Cabrera was placed on the 15-day injured list with a blister on his right middle finger. The Cubs called up lefty Jordan Wicks from Triple-A Iowa to take his place.

Brown is trying to nail down a rotation spot and will make his first career start against the Pirates. Brown is 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA for his career against Pittsburgh in four relief appearances with the most recent on April 11, when he pitched two scoreless innings in relief in Chicago. The Pirates won two of three in Chicago during that April 10-12 series.

Mlodzinski is 0-0 with a 1.40 ERA in 10 career appearances (three starts) against the Cubs. He had one of his best starts this season against Chicago on April 10 when he threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and three walks and striking out two in a 2-0 win.

Mlodzinski will try to help the Pirates string together wins after they lost two of three in Toronto over the weekend. Pittsburgh salvaged Sunday's finale with a 4-1 win.

With possible changes to the Pirates' rotation forthcoming with the return of right-hander Jared Jones looming, Mlodzinski is hoping to stick in his rotation spot. Jones has not pitched in the majors since the end of the 2024 season after undergoing elbow surgery.

'You could see potentially, if Jared Jones is activated, we could have seven starting pitchers on the roster,' Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters on Sunday. 'That creates an opportunity for us to think about deployment in different ways.'

The Pirates could choose to pivot Mlodzinski back into a long relief role once Jones is activated. Mlodzinski has made eight starts this season and two bulk relief appearances when Pittsburgh has used an opener. He threw 95 pitches in five innings in his most recent start on Wednesday, but tossed five scoreless innings, struck out one and walked one against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 7-0 road win.

--Field Level Media