The Royals come to town for some interleague action and they’ll be greeted by a Jake Arrieta very different from the man they remember from the American League.
Edinson Volquez has had a great deal of success so far for the Royals, though I’d imagine the .230 BABIP and 3.5% HR/FB ratio have a lot to do with that, and I’m not sure how sustainable either one is. Hopefully the Cubs today can be the bearer of some helpful regression.
Volquez has a reverse split this year (i.e., although he’s a righty, he’s been tougher on lefties), and is split neutral for his career, so I reckon that’s why we’re seeing Junior Lake getting a start (well, in addition to just, you know, getting him a start).
Game Info
Kansas City Royals (28-18) at Chicago Cubs (25-21), 3:05 CT on CSN and MLB.tv.
Game Thread and Series Preview
Your game thread is down there in the comments, so have fun.
The Series Preview lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Edinson Volquez (2.77 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 4.40 xFIP; 1.95 K/BB)
versus
Jake Arrieta (2.95 ERA, 2.38 FIP, 2.67 xFIP; 4.43 K/BB)
Kansas City Royals Lineup
1. Alcides Escobar, SS
2. Mike Moustakas, 3B
3. Lorenzo Cain, CF
4. Eric Hosmer, 1B
5. Sal Perez, C
6. Alex Gordon, LF
7. Omar Infante, 2B
8. Paulo Orlando, RF
9. Edinson Volquez, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Kris Bryant, 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Starlin Castro, SS
5. Miguel Montero, C
6. Jorge Soler, RF
7. Junior Lake, LF
8. Jake Arrieta, P
9. Addison Russell, 2B