The Cubs will soldier on without Kyle Schwarber, but they’ve got Jon Lester on the mound, so that’s a good thing.
The Cubs face former farmhand Zack Godley, who went from A-ball reliever to big league starter in less than a year after being traded to the D-Backs. He’s had three starts in the bigs, and they’ve been legitimately successful. Maybe the Cubs will have a better book on him. Maybe Miguel Montero, the man for whom he was traded, will take Godley deep, and that’ll be a fun story.
Former friend Welington Castillo makes his Wrigley return, and I hope he’s greeted warmly by the fans … and then goes 0-3 with 3 Ks.
Paul Goldschmidt is still with his family, so the Cubs catch a break there, especially with a lefty, Lester, on the mound.
Javy Baez gets a start at second base, and I just know that he’s going to have a huge game one of these times.
Game Info
Arizona Diamondbacks (65-69) at Chicago Cubs (75-57), 8:40 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
Zack Godley (1.90 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 3.41 xFIP; 2.75 K/BB)
versus
Jon Lester (3.59 ERA, 3.07 FIP, 3.09 xFIP; 4.15 K/BB)
Arizona Diamondbacks Lineup
1. Ender Inciarte, RF
2. Phil Gosselin, 3B
3. A.J. Pollock, CF
4. Welington Castillo, C
5. David Peralta, LF
6. Yasmany Tomas, 1B
7. Chris Owings, 2B
8. Nick Ahmed, SS
9. Zack Godley, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Austin Jackson, RF
3. Chris Coghlan, LF
4. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
5. Kris Bryant, 3B
6. Javy Baez, 2B
7. David Ross, C
8. Jon Lester, P
9. Addison Russell, SS