Jeff Samardzija’s start yesterday (5IP, 4R, 2ER, 6H, 3BB, 6K) was described as a “not having his best stuff” kind of affair, which is true – it was, perhaps, his worst outing of the year. But that says more about how incredible he’s been, generally, than it does about how bad he was yesterday. Indeed, if Edwin Jackson did that today, we’d probably be saying, “hey, another step forward for Jackson!”
Today’s game will get a great deal less play for the Cubs’ starter than the Brewers’, and that is Matt Garza. It’s his return to Wrigley Field, where his legacy is a little mixed. His performance with the Cubs, however, was generally pretty darn good, so he probably deserves a nice welcome from the faithful. (But he also deserves for someone to post that GIF – you know the one – in the comments below. Incidentally, that took place against these very Brewers, on what would have been the final batter of a shutout performance.)
For posterity, I hope this game features an appearance by all of Mike Olt, Neil Ramirez, and Justin Grimm. (Olt starts at third today.)
Darwin Barney picks up another start as his bat heats up a little bit. Chris Coghlan starts in left, and not Ryan Kalish, who’s started just once in the last five games. Before that stretch, he’d hit .389/.450/.500 in his last five games, so I wonder if there’s an injury issue or something. Otherwise, there wasn’t much of a reason to have him sitting down so much this week.
Game Info
Milwaukee Brewers (27-15) at Chicago Cubs (13-27), 1:20 CT on CSN.
Game Thread and Series Preview
Game threads now live here in the comments – and with Disqus, they should be even more enjoyable.
The Series Preview lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Matt Garza (4.98, ERA 3.74 FIP, 4.04 xFIP; 2.17 K/BB)
versus
Edwin Jackson (4.56 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 4.00 xFIP; 2.00 K/BB)
Milwaukee Brewers Lineup
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Scooter Gennett, 2B
3. Ryan Braun, RF
4. Jonathan Lucroy, C
5. Mark Reynolds, 1B
6. Elian Herrera, LF
7. Jean Segura, SS
8. Jeff Bianchi, 3B
9. Matt Garza, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Emilio Bonifacio, CF
2. Chris Coghlan, LF
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Starlin Castro, SS
5. Nate Schierholtz, RF
6. Welington Castillo, C
7. Mike Olt, 3B
8. Darwin Barney, 2B
9. Edwin Jackson, P