With just one more win, the Chicago Cubs will reach 90 on the season – a threshold/benchmark upon which successful regular seasons are often measured.
Of course, being that it’s only September 7, they should probably take home quite a bit more than that, when all is said and done.
Mike Montgomery draws his fourth start in a Cubs uniform tonight, pitching to Willson Contreras. His starts have been mixed (4.73 ERA through 3 GS), but he’s provided some cover in John Lackey’s absence and some rest for the other starters down the stretch.
Opposing Montgomery is our old friend Matt Garza (although, surprisingly, he’s only 32 years old). Garza’s season has been pretty short (80.2 IP) and pretty ineffective (4.57 ERA). He’s been particularly rough against lefties, who’ve hit .291/.369/.465 (.357 wOBA) against him throughout the season, and he’ll face six of them tonight.
In fact, thanks to a couple of switch hitters (Dexter Fowler, Ben Zobrist), two lefty starters (Jon Lester and Mike Montgomery) and a lefty catcher (Miguel Montero), the Cubs are almost always able to run up five or more batters from the favorable side of the opposing pitchers’ splits. It’s pretty awesome.
First pitch is at 7:10 CT.
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Game Info
Chicago Cubs (89-49) at Milwaukee Brewers (61-77) – 7:10 CT on CSN-C, 670 The Score
Game Thread and Series Preview
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun this afternoon.
The Series Preview lives here. The Lineup Discussion lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: Mike Monotgomery (L): 2.80 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 3.72 xFIP; 2.41 K/BB
versus
Brewers: Matt Garza (R): 4.57 ERA, 4.44 FIP, 4.63 xFIP; 1.81 K/BB
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Milwaukee Brewers Lineup:
- Jonathan Villar, 3B
- Keon Broxton, CF
- Ryan Braun, LF
- Hernan Perez, 2B
- Chris Carter, 1B
- Domingo Santana, RF
- Orlando Arcia, SS
- Many Pina, C
- Matt Garza, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Dexter Fowler, CF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Addison Russell, SS
- Chris Coghlan, LF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Willson Contreras, C
- Mike Montgomery, P