NEWSLETTER
The Cubs this weekend are heading to Miami, where they’ll play three straight against the NL East bottom-feeding Marlins. It’ll be Adbert Alzolay, Zach Davies, and Alec Mills in this one, which means, sadly, we have to wait until Monday for another Justin Steele start.
The Marlins are one of the 9 teams “ahead” of the Cubs in the reverse standings, and this series is one of several coming up against those teams: Three against Miami this weekend, three against the Royals next weekend, followed immediately by three against the Rockies, and then there are four against the Twins before the end of the season (one at the end of August and three in September).
The Cubs will play the Marlins, Royals, Rockies, and Twins over the next three weeks. pic.twitter.com/yzELvsYLd4
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) August 13, 2021
We’re Going Streaking
The Chicago Cubs (52-65) have dropped eight in a row and are just one game “back” of the 6th pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. Unfortunately, Kansas City, Washington, Minnesota, and Colorado are all stacked in there ahead of them. The Miami Marlins (48-67) are currently set with the fifth pick in the draft, 3 games ahead of the Cubs. But while they may have a cushion between them and the group from 6-10, they have no real shot at catching up to the bottom tier of Pittsburgh, Texas, Baltimore, and Arizona.
Game Times and Broadcasts Info
• Friday, August 13th at 6:10 CT on MARQ, 670 The Score
• Saturday, August 14th at 5:10 CT on MARQ, 670 The Score
• Sunday, August 15th at 12:10 CT on MARQ, 670 The Score
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Adbert Alzolay (R) vs. Jesus Luzard (L)
Game 2: Zach Davies (R) vs. Zach Thompson (R)
Game 3: Alec Mills (R) vs. Elieser Hernandez (R)
Chicago Cubs
• C – Robinson Chirinos
• 1B – Frank Schwindel/Patrick Wisdom
• 2B – David Bote
• 3B – Matt Duffy/Patrick Wisdom
• SS – Andrew Romine
• LF – Ian Happ/Patrick Wisdom
• CF – Rafael Ortega
• RF – Greg Deichmann
Unavailable: Dillon Maples, Nico Hoerner, Jason Heyward, Willson Contreras, Jonathan Holder, Nick Madrigal, Jose Lobaton, P.J. Higgins, Kohl Stewart, Brad Wieck
Miami Marlins
• C – Alex Jackson
• 1B – Jesus Aguilar
• 2B – Isan Diaz
• 3B – Brian Anderson
• SS – Miguel Rojas
• LF – Jorge Alfaro
• CF – Magneuris Sierra
• RF – Bryan De La Cruz
Unavailable: Jesus Sanchez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jon Berti, Daneil Castano, Cody Poteet, Pablo Lopez, Jeff Brigham, Elieser Hernandez, Jose Devers, Garrett Cooper
By the Numbers:
Run Differential:
Cubs: -78
Marlins: -17
Runs Scored Per Game:
Cubs: 4.13
Marlins: 3.97
Runs Allowed Per Game:
Cubs: 4.79
Marlins: 4.11
Keep An Eye Out For …
Lewis Brinson, who came to the Marlins from the Brewers in the deal for Christian Yelich, is finally breaking out with the bat. It took him a few years and he’s been hurt a lot here in 2021, but for the season, he’s got a 127 wRC+. And over his last 104 PAs, he’s slashing .316/.356/.622 (162 wRC+). He’s also got a five-game hitting streak, with 11 hits, including 3 doubles and 3 homers.
Frank Schwindel is making the most of his opportunity, slashing .283/.309/.528 (123 wRC+) over his first 55 plate appearances, with four doubles and three homers. His walk rate remains tiny (hence the tiny OBP), but the strikeout rate is in a good place (21.8%) and the power is there (.245 ISO). So all things considered, it’s a swell start for Schwindel.
Ian Happ is in as deep of a funk as I’ve seen a hitter. Since the beginning of July, he’s recorded just 16 hits (4 doubles, 2 homers) in 112 plate appearances with a 35.7% strikeout rate. Given his past offensive success and longer-term cost control, I still think you just let him try to hit his way out of it (who’s he blocking?), but even for his own sake, I hope he has a big game or two sometime soon. This sort of slump cannot be easy to deal with.
