The Cubs haven’t had too many series losses this year, but their first came at Wrigley Field against these Padres. Tonight, the Padres will either repeat the feat, or the Cubs will Meatloaf the Padres in San Diego.
Kyle Hendricks gets the ball, and here’s hoping tonight’s start goes like the first one – for the first handful of innings anyway (recall, his last start was against the Pirates … the one where the Cubs had two huge leads, blew them both, and then won when Gregory Polanco fell down in the outfield).
The Cubs will face unique Cuban righty Odrisamer Despaigne in this one. After some success last year, Despaigne has been fairly terrible this season. Watch out for that changeup, which is ridiculously slower than his fastball, and falls off the table. Unless he lollipops it up there, it’s a pitch you just want to spit on.
The Cubs are sporting the same lineup for the third time this series, which is probably a first on the year. Although I’m sure Miguel Montero is glad to be getting more starts now that there are just two catchers on the roster, here’s hoping it doesn’t translate to any kind of wearing down.
How about this crazy stat:
Cubs' last hit with RISP was by Matt Szczur on walk-off single in the 12th inning of May 15 win over Pirates. 0x23 since
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) May 21, 2015
And that one wasn’t even a hit!
I suspect the Cubs will get a few hits with runners in scoring position soon enough. That’s one of those things that evens out.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (22-17) at San Diego Padres (20-21), 8:10 CT on CSN+, MLBN 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
Kyle Hendricks (5.15 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 4.02 xFIP; 3.33 K/BB (2014))
versus
Odrisamer Despaigne (6.75 ERA, 5.31 FIP, 4.86 xFIP; 1.33 K/BB)
San Diego Padres Lineup
1. Corey Spangenberg, 2B
2. Derek Norris, C
3. Matt Kemp, RF
4. Justin Upton, LF
5. Yangervis Solarte, 1B
6. Will Venable, CF
7. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
8. Alexi Amarista, SS
9. Odrisamer Despaigne, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Kris Bryant, 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Starlin Castro, SS
5. Miguel Montero, C
6. Jorge Soler, RF
7. Chris Coghlan, LF
8. Kyle Hendricks, P
9. Addison Russell, 2B