Well I can’t say I would’ve guessed that the 2017 Chicago Cubs first crack at five in a row would mean something negative. Alas, a loss tonight would be five straight losses to two divisional foes.
Brett Anderson will try to play stopper for the Cubs, while also continuing a fairly nice start to the season.
Well, half-nice. It’s worth pointing out that, while the surface numbers from his last start look nice (5.0 IP, 0 earned runs, 3 hits) it wasn’t all great.
Anderson allowed four walks to just two strikeouts and a ton of hard contact (this was the game in which Albert Almora made two dazzling defensive plays in the outfield). But perhaps most troubling was Anderson was allowing a lot of fly balls, which, while mostly okay at Wrigley this time of the year, is just not his game. Ground balls are his bread and butter, and his ability to induce them will be an early indicator of success tonight.
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Opposing Anderson and the Cubs is Jimmy Nelson, the Brewers’ other hot starter. Nelson’s early season numbers have been quite good (1.38 ERA, 2.60 FIP), but he’s not without his weaknesses. For his career, lefties (.349 wOBA) have hit Nelson far better than righties (.304 wOBA), which is probably why Jon Jay and Miguel Montero are both drawing starts tonight.
And, as we discussed, Javy Baez is taking over shortstop as Addison Russell gets a breather. All together, then, including the Cubs’ starter, Jimmy Nelson will face seven lefties tonight – just Baez and Bryant will be hitting from the right side of the plate.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (6-7) at Milwaukee Brewers (8-6) – 7:05 on WGN, 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 today.
The Series Preview lives here. The Lineup Discussion lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: Brett Anderson (L): 0.84 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 4.53 xFIP; 1.20 K/BB
versus
Brewers: Jimmy Nelson (R): 1.38 ERA, 2.60 FIP, 3.43 xFIP; 6.50 K/BB
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Milwaukee Brewers Lineup:
- Jonathan Villar, 2B
- Eric Thames, 1B
- Ryan Braun, LF
- Travis Shaw, 3B
- Domingo Santana, RF
- Manny Piña, C
- Keon Broxton, CF
- Orlando Arcia, SS
- Jimmy Nelson, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Miguel Montero, C
- Javy Baez, SS
- Brett Anderson, P
- Jon Jay, CF