Interleague baseball! For a day! In late September! Between playoff contenders!
This could have been a lot more exciting if each team hadn’t essentially locked up their postseason standing, but, then again, the Cubs are still technically alive for the top Wild Card spot, and the Royals are fighting for the top overall record in the AL.
The Cubs and Royals split the games they played back in May in this series, so I guess each team is going for a series win today. Fun that, even after all this time, the teams are meeting with identical records.
Like Jason Hammel before him, Kyle Hendricks is trying to build a late-season resume that would allow the Cubs to feel comfortable giving him a postseason start. He pitched well last time out against a beleaguered Brewers lineup.
Game Info
Kansas City Royals (90-65) at Chicago Cubs (90-65), 7:05 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
Yordano Ventura (4.40 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 3.73 xFIP; 2.57 K/BB)
versus
Kyle Hendricks (4.23 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 3.39 xFIP; 3.66 K/BB)
Kansas City Royals Lineup
1. Ben Zobrist, 2B
2. Alex Gordon, LF
3. Lorenzo Cain, CF
4. Eric Hosmer, 1B
5. Mike Moustakas, 3B
6. Salvador Perez, C
7. Alex Rios, RF
8. Alcides Escobar, SS
9. Yordano Ventura, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Chris Coghlan, LF
3. Kris Bryant, 1B
4. Tommy La Stella, 3B
5. Starlin Castro, 2B
6. Miguel Montero, C
7. Jorge Soler, RF
8. Addison Russell, SS
9. Kyle Hendricks, P