After being swept by the Dodgers, the Cubs have some making up to do. Fortunately, they’ve run in the right team against which to do it.
This series’ opponent, the San Diego Padres, have lost seven of their past eight series and have the second worst record in baseball. Their offense is struggling, their starters are untested, and their bullpen is one of the worst in baseball. The Cubs are the far superior team on paper … of course they’ll still have to prove it on the field.
Starting for the Cubs today is a he’s still doing it, nobody-jinx-it (crap did I just jinx it?) streaking Kyle Hendricks. After three poor starts at the beginning of the season, Hendricks has rallied in six straight (1.96 ERA), ending in a fantastic 7.0 IP, 5H, 2ER performance against the Giants last week. He has been getting lucky with his hit sequencing over that stretch (86.6 LOB%), but his groundball rate is returning to normal (48.5%) and he’s recorded nearly three times as many strikeouts (30) as walks (11). Keep it up.
Starting for the Padres this afternoon is righty Jarred Cosart. Cosart has made four starts this season (and a relief appearance), but has accumulated just 16.0 IP. His 4.50 ERA is mostly deserved (4.27 FIP, 5.55 xFIP) and he’s actually walked more batters (15.3%) than he’s struck out (11.1%). Pitching matchups don’t get too much juicier than this, so I really hope the Cubs’s bats are ready.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (26-25) at San Diego Padres (19-33) – 3:40 CT on ABC-7, 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.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (L): 3.25 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 3.96 xFIP; 2.93 K/BB
versus
Padres: Jarred Cosart (L): 4.50 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 5.55 xFIP; 0.73 K/BB
San Diego Padres Lineup:
- Allen Cordoba, LF
- Yangervis Solarte, 2B
- Wil Myers, 1B
- Ryan Schimpf, 3B
- Hunter Renfroe, RF
- Franchy Cordero, CF
- Austin Hedges, C
- Chase d’Arnaud, SS
- Jarred Cosart, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ben Zobrist, RF
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Miguel Montero, C
- Jason Heyward, CF
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Addison Russell, SS
- Kyle Hendricks, P