By some transitive property that I won’t actually employ, the Cubs are probably way better than the first-place Orioles.
They can further cement that totally legitimate title by winning today’s game, and, thus, this weekend series. Kyle Hendricks starts for the Cubs, and we’ll see how he fares against a lineup with a lot of thump. He’s working on a six game quality start streak, so it’s been so far so good for him.
Game Info
Baltimore Orioles (73-53) at Chicago Cubs (56-72), 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
Bud Norris (3.69 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 4.18 xFIP; 2.54 K/BB)
versus
Kyle Hendricks (1.66 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 3.85 xFIP; 2.64 K/BB)
Baltimore Orioles Lineup
1. Nick Markakis, RF
2. Steve Pearce, 1B
3. Adam Jones, CF
4. Nelson Cruz, LF
5. Chris Davis, 3B
6. J.J. Hardy, SS
7. Jonathan Schoop, 2B
8. Nick Hundley, C
9. Bud Norris, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Chris Coghlan, LF
2. Javier Baez, SS
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Luis Valbuena, 3B
5. Ryan Sweeney, RF
6. Welington Castillo, C
7. Arismendy Alcantara, CF
8. Logan Watkins, 2B
9. Kyle Hendricks, P