The Chicago Cubs have now won eight games in a row, although yesterday’s squeeker was a bit too close for comfort.
How about another 5-6 run win, yes?
Today at 12:05, the Cubs will play part one of a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres thanks to a rainout on Monday.
Kyle Hendricks takes the ball in game one, and he’ll hopefully be able to go deep into this one, as the bullpen was pretty heavily taxed in last night’s game. Six relievers were used in all, so a nice long start would go a long way to helping out in game two.
Luckily, Carl Edwards Jr. was called up to help out as the 26th man, and the Cubs do have an off-day tomorrow, so at least everyone will get some rest one way or another.
Dexter Fowler gets a well-deserved game off (although, you’re likely to see him in game two), and Ben Zobrist takes his place atop the lineup. Jorge Soler and Javier Baez both start in this one, too, so everybody wins!
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Opposing Kyle Hendricks is right-handed starter Colin Rea. Rea, 25, is in his sophomore season, although he made just six starts last year after debuting in August. So far this year, Rea is outperforming (3.82 ERA) his peripherals (4.48 FIP), and is struggling with an elevated HR/FB ratio (13.8%). He also walks a fair amount of hitters (9.2%) without striking out too many (17.7%), but he has done a nice job of creating ground balls (49.1%). The Padres bullpen is a mess, but I suspect the Cubs could do plenty of damage against Rea, too.
The samples are tiny, but, for what it’s worth, Rea has been an extreme reverse-split guy in the big leagues, with righties crushing him and lefties struggling.
A win in game one would make it nine in a row!
Game Info
San Diego Padres (13-20) at Chicago Cubs (25-6), 12:05 CT on CSN+, 670 The Score.
Game Thread and Series Preview
Your game thread is down there in the comments, so have fun. But keep it “safe for work” type fun, all right?
The Series Preview lives here. The Lineup Discussion lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (R): 3.10 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 3.12 xFIP; 3.83 K/BB
versus
Padres: Colin Rea: (R): 3.82 ERA, 4.46 FIP, 4.26 xFIP; 1.93 K/BB
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San Diego Padres Lineup
1. Travis Jankowski, CF
2. Wil Myers, 1B
3. Matt Kemp, RF
4. Brett Wallace, 3B
5. Derek Norris, C
6. Alex Dickerson, LF
7. Jose Pirela, 2B
8. Adam Rosales, SS
9. Colin Rea, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Ben Zobrist, 2B
2. Jason Heyward, CF
3. Kris Bryant, RF
4. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
5. Jorge Soler, LF
6. Javier Baez, 3B
7. Addison Russell, SS
8. Tim Federowicz, C
9. Kyle Hendricks, P