The Chicago Cubs lost to the Anaheim Angels yesterday at Sloan Park, but Addison Russell hit another home run while each of Albert Almora and Munenori Kawasaki flashed some leather.
Plus, Alec Mills, one of the four Cubs lottery ticket pitchers in 2017, went two innings without allowing a walk or a run and just three relatively soft hits.
Today, another one of those lottery tickets, Eddie Butler, takes the mound in his debut.
Like Mills (and Brett Anderson) before him, Butler’s 2017 season will be one to watch with a close eye. If the Cubs coaching staff can have some more luck (well, mixed with ability), the Cubs may have found themselves a member of the future rotation. But that’s still a long way’s off.
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There aren’t a lot of nominal starters in this one, depending on how you envision the roles for Javy Baez and Albert Almora, but there are plenty of familiar names. Let’s see if the Cubs can win one.
On the other side of the ball, the Cubs will find Jorge Soler drawing the start in right field. Not unlike my desire to see Rick Renteria succeed with the White Sox, I hope Soler absolutely kills it for the Royals.
Today’s game will not be broadcast on TV. The Cubs-based audio will be available at MLB.com. For future reference, you can check which games will be televised here.
[Brett: GAH! The first Eddie Butler start AND Jorge Soler in a Royals uniform, and we don’t get to watch!?!?!?]
Cubs Lineup:
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Jon Jay, LF
- Willson Contreras, C
- Jeimer Candelario, 3B
- Albert Almora, CF
- Chris Dominguez, 1B
- Victor Caratini, DH
- Matt Szczur, RF
- Munenori Kawasaki, SS
Starting Pitcher: Eddie Butler
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