That was a successful home stand. So how about the Cubs pair it with a nice successful road trip, eh?
There’s a couple of lefties on the mound tonight in game one between the Cubs and Phillies. Jon Lester will go for Chicago and look to continue a solid start to the season, and Adam Morgan toes the rubber for Philadelphia.
Of course, with Lester pitching, that means that we’ll get David Ross behind the plate, which is swell because of the aforementioned lefty opposing Lester. Is it weird that I’m a little bit bummed he checked off so many bucket list items so early in the season (catch no-hitter, hit 100 HRs, get 500 hits). Part of me wanted it to be a real grind that he pulled off in the home stretch of really meaningful games. Whatever, I guess I’ll just find a way to be happy that he’s been just so good.
Again, opposing Lester is fellow lefty Adam Morgan. Morgan, 26, made his Major League debut last season and continues to struggle in the major leagues – especially against righties and especially against the Cubs. For his career, he’s managed lefties quite well (.261 wOBA), but has allowed righties to kill him to the tune of .287/.331/.520 (.361 wOBA), including 18 homers in 93 innings pitched. So, the Cubs will load the lineup with righties tonight.
And although he’s capable of hitting from the right side, Ben Zobrist is getting another breather in favor of Javy Baez tonight. Since the beginning of the last Phillies series (23 PAs), Baez is slashing .318/.348/.636 with seven hits (including a double and two home runs), six RBI and a stolen base. He hasn’t walked in that stretch, but he’s struck out only four times (17.4%) – three of which came in one day. Overall, I like this matchup for several Cubs tonight. Let’s see if they can not lose again until the next Jake Arrieta start.
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Game Info
Philadelphia Phillies (28-29) at Chicago Cubs (39-16), 6:05 CT on CSN, ESPN-2, 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: Jon Lester (L): 2.29 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 3.36 xFIP; 4.06 K/BB
versus
Phillies: Adam Morgan (L): 7.07 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 5.02 xFIP; 2.40 K/BB
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Philadelphia Phillies Lineup:
1. Cesar Hernandez, 2B
2. Freddy Galvis, SS
3. Tommy Joseph, 1B
4. Maikel Franco, 3B
5. Cameron Rupp, C
6. Tyler Goeddel, LF
7. Peter Bourjos, CF
8. Jimmy Paredes, RF
9. Adam Morgan, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Jason Heyward, RF
3. Kris Bryant, 3B
4. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
5. Jorge Soler, LF
6. Javy Baez, 2B
7. Addison Russell, SS
8. David Ross, C
9. Jon Lester, P