NEWSLETTER
Despite some ninth-inning, heart-pounding drama, the Cubs were able to pull of their fourth consecutive win of the second-half last night. Hopefully, with a lefty on the mound today, the righties are able to kick that offense back into high-gear and clinch their second consecutive series victory.
Of course, that’ll depend largely on what John Lackey does in his return from the disabled list (in case you missed it, the Cubs activated Lackey and sent Eddie Butler back to Triple-A Iowa), specifically with his ability to reduce the number of home runs allowed – something he’s struggled with mightily this year.
Interestingly, tonight’s Braves’ starter, Sean Newcomb, hasn’t had many problems with the long ball at all. His 7.4% HR/FB ratio would be among the very best in baseball, if he had enough innings to qualify, and stands in direct contrast to the 21.2% HR/FB ratio Lackey has posted (which is among the very worst).
Maybe there’ll be some positive regression on both sides of the ball tonight, then, and the Cubs can unleash some fury on the rookie left-hander.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (47-45) at Atlanta Braves (45-46) – 6:35 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.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: John Lackey (R): 5.20 ERA, 5.66 FIP, 4.54 xFIP; 2.87 K/BB
versus
Braves: Sean Newcomb (L): 4.26 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 4.19 xFIP; 2.14 K/BB
Atlanta Braves:
- Ender Inciarte, CF
- Brandon Phillips, 2B
- Freddie Freeman, 3B
- Matt Kemp, LF
- Matt Adams, 1B
- Nick Markakis, RF
- Kurt Suzuki, C
- Johan Camargo, SS
- Sean Newcomb, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ben Zobrist, LF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Addison Russell, SS
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, 2B
- John Lackey, P
