The last two nights have sucked. No way around it. And tonight, the Cubs really need Jon Lester to be Jon Lester.
Of course, even if Lester is the man for six, seven, eight, or even nine innings, the Cubs will have to do some damage against Lance Lynn, who has been dominant this year. It’s early, but the strong righty is having the best year of an already-strong career so far. Here’s hoping the Cubs’ lineup can do some damage in the early going.
Speaking of which, Kris Bryant slides back down to the fourth spot, but Jorge Soler slides with him, now down at five. Given Lynn’s strong splits against lefties, and the fact that Chris Coghlan – despite the slash line – is hitting the ball very well this year, I like this lineup. Indeed, the only thing I don’t like is David Ross having to face a very tough righty. Ross is having a great year so far, and this is no shot at Ross. Instead, I’m merely commenting on the platoon advantage the Cubs are losing today. It’s a potential bummer, and, unless Starlin Castro picks back up, there’s a possible 33% dead zone in the Cubs’ lineup.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (13-12) at St. Louis Cardinals (20-6), 7:15 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
Jon Lester (4.71 ERA, 2.35 FIP, 2.83 xFIP; 4.67 K/BB)
versus
Lance Lynn (3.07 ERA, 2.02 FIP, 2.77 xFIP; 4.50 K/BB)
St. Louis Cardinals Lineup
1. Peter Bourjos, CF
2. Matt Carpenter, 3B
3. Matt Holliday, LF
4. Mark Reynolds, 1B
5. Jhonny Peralta, SS
6. Yadier Molina, C
7. Jason Heyward, RF
8. Pete Kozma, 2B
9. Lance Lynn, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Chris Coghlan, LF
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Kris Bryant, 3B
5. Jorge Soler, RF
6. Starlin Castro, SS
7. David Ross, C
8. Jon Lester, P
9. Addison Russell, 2B