Pre-Gamin’: Rockies at Cubs (7:05 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Threas

Well, the Chicago Cubs could not complete the sweep yesterday, but today’s a new day, and the Rockies present a whole new opportunity for another winning streak to begin.

Of course, the Rockies are also one of the better teams in Major League Baseball, and did take two of three from the Cubs earlier this season. Even still, tonight’s matchup between Jon Lester and Tyler Chatwood feels like an on-paper advantage for the Cubs.

Lester’s last start against the Cardinals wasn’t his strongest of the season (6.0 IP, 6H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K), but it did represent a nice bounce back from his worst start of the year against the Dodgers. It also provided us with a rare Jon Lester straight pick-off, which was absolutely fantastic (and hilarious) to see. I wonder if the Rockies will be slightly less audacious on first base tonight.

Opposing Lester, as I mentioned, is right-hander Tyler Chatwood.

Chatwood’s got a 4.60 ERA (4.69 FIP) through 12 starts this season, and has walked a hefty 11.8% of batters. But, naturally, his last start against the Padres was an 8.0 inning gem, wherein he allowed just one earned run on four hits and just one walk against eight strikeouts. How you expect him to fare today, then, is a matter of your disposition.

Was that the start of a positive trend? Did he burn up way too much fuel last time around? I suppose we’ll find out tonight. For what it’s worth, lefties have hit Chatwood much better than righties throughout his career, and he’ll face six tonight, including Lester.

Let’s see if the Cubs’ offense keeps on rolling.

The team will be playing without Addison Russell tonight, who is away from the team as he deals with issues at home.

Game Info

Colorado Rockies (38-23) at Chicago Cubs (30-28) – 7:05 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 today.

  • The Series Preview lives here.
  • The Lineup Discussion is here.
  • Starting Pitchers

    Cubs: Jon Lester (L): 4.90, 4.94 FIP, 3.96 xFIP; 3.14 K/BB

    versus

    Rockies: Tyler Chatwood (R): 3.80 ERA, 5.46 FIP, 5.58 xFIP; 1.56 K/BB

    Colorado Rockies:

    1. Charlie Blackmon, CF
    2. D.J. LeMahieu, 2B
    3. Nolan Arenado, 3B
    4. Mark Reynolds, 1B
    5. Carlos Gonzalez, RF
    6. Ian Desmond, LF
    7. Trevor Story, SS
    8. Tony Wolters, C
    9. Tyler Chatwood, P

    Chicago Cubs Lineup:

    1. Ian Happ, CF
    2. Kris Bryant, 3B
    3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
    4. Ben Zobrist, 2B
    5. Jason Heyward, RF
    6. Willson Contreras, C
    7. Javy Baez, SS
    8. Jon Lester, P
    9. Kyle Schwarber, LF

    written by

    Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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