We have ourselves a series, eh?
After taking game one on Monday, the Cubs couldn’t quite finish the Mets on Tuesday, despite a late opportunity (and numerous opportunities that preceded it), so the series is split 1-1.
This afternoon, then, the series will be decided, as the Cubs’ “fifth starter,” Kyle Hendricks (who happens to have the fourth lowest ERA in all of baseball), will take the mound against the 43-year-old veteran Bartolo Colon.
Hendricks will pitch to Miguel Montero, who draws an unexpected back-to-back start on a day game after a night game. That said, for his (very long) career, the opposing starter, Colon, has been a bit worse against lefties (.329 wOBA) than righties (.305 wOBA), and that remains true for 2016. Getting Montero’s bat in the lineup, then, was likely the plan.
With Montero behind the plate, you’ll find Willson Contreras in left field. Of course, with Contreras in left field, you’ll find Kris Bryant at third base. With Bryant at third base, you’ll find Javy Baez at second base. With Baez at second base, you’ll find Ben Zobrist in right field. With Ben Zobrist in right field, you’ll find Jason Heyward in center field. This Cubs team, man, they are versatile and show it every single day.
The Mets lineup looks a bit different today for three reasons. First, there’s no Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes has been nursing a quad injury recently, which was likely pushed a bit during yesterday’s start in the outfield. In fact, Cespedes was originally supposed to start in center field yesterday, but was moved to left before the game. Second, Jose Reyes is moving off of third and back to his home at shortstop, giving Asdrubal Cabrera a breather. This will be Reyes’ second start at shortstop in 2016. And finally, Neil Walker takes a seat on the bench, making way for Kelly Johnson at second base.
[adinserter block=”1″]
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (56-37) at New York Mets (50-43), 1:20 CT on ABC-7, ESPN (out-of-market only), 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): 2.41 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 3.86 xFIP; 3.07 K/BB
versus
Mets: Bartolo Colon (R): 3.11 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 4.09 xFIP; 3.63 K/BB
[adinserter block=”2″]
New York Mets Lineup:
1. Jose Reyes, SS
2. Curtis Granderson, RF
3. Wilmer Flores, 3B
4. James Loney, 1B
5. Travis d’Arnaud, C
6. Kelly Johnson, 2B
7. Juan Lagares, CF
8. Michael Conforto, LF
9. Bartolo Colon, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
1. Ben Zobrist, RF
2. Kris Bryant, 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Willson Contreras, LF
5. Jason Heyward, CF
6. Addison Russell, SS
7. Miguel Montero, C
8. Javy Baez, 2B
9. Kyle Hendricks, P