Fresh off two frustrating (ok, one frustrating, and one soul-crushing) losses to the Diamondbacks, the Cubs head up to Miller Park to face the heretofore best team in baseball.
And it’s an old friend! Matt Garza takes the mound for the Brewers tonight, which means, among other things, the Cubs should be working on their bunting skills. With apologies to Garza if it’s considered a jerk move, but, if I’m Ricky Renteria, I command Emilio Bonifacio, leading off the game, to try and bunt the ball right back to Garza.
Just see what happens. Maybe this happens:
Was that entire setup mostly just so that I had an excuse to post that GIF again? You bet. Incidentally, that came against the Brewers.
The lineup undergoes some additional changes tonight. Mike Olt is back on the bench, and Luis Valbuena is back at third. Starlin Castro climbs to the cleanup spot, with Nate Schierholtz batting fifth. I don’t really think their placement really much matters in this lineup, at least in the 4/5/6 range, so whatever. Fine by me. Breaks up the lefties a little bit, too.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (7-14) at Milwaukee Brewers (16-6), 7:10 CT on CSN+2.
Game Thread and Series Preview
The Game Thread lives here. And, of course, for those who aren’t into message board-style game threads, please feel free to use the comments on this post for your in-game commentary/outbursts.
The Series Preview lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Carlos Villanueva (10.93 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 3.81 xFIP; 13.00 K/BB)
versus
Matt Garza (4.50 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 3.72 xFIP; 2.71 K/BB)
Milwaukee Brewers Lineup
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Scooter Gennett, 2B
3. Ryan Braun, RF
4. Aramis Ramirez, 3B
5. Jonathan Lucroy, C
6. Khris Davis, LF
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Jean Segura, SS
9. Matt Garza, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Emilio Bonifacio, 2B
2. Luis Valbuena, 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Starlin Castro, SS
5. Nate Schierholtz, RF
6. Junior Lake, LF
7. Ryan Sweeney, CF
8. Welington Castillo, C
9. Carlos Villanueva, P