And just like that, the Cubs have lost three straight games.
I know their schedule is, eh hem, scheduled to lighten up on Monday, but I’m willing to bet that they’d still like to win this series against the Nationals, especially considering that they’ll have missed each of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Gio Gonzalez by the time it’s all said and done.
But now, they’ll have to win two straight at Wrigley to pull it off.
And because the universe is usually painfully poetic, the Cubs will square off against Edwin Jackson today, just after he threw a bona fide gem against a good Rockies’ offense: 7.0 IP, 4H, 1ER, 2BB, 6Ks. Please, oh please, just let him be the pitcher he was when he was with the Cubs a few years ago. Please.
In any case, John Lackey will be going for the Cubs and, to be fair, he had a pretty good month of July results wise (3.27 ERA). Of course, his 4.38 FIP, inflated 82.2% strand rate, and unusually low 8.7% HR/FB ratio all suggest some negative regression is just around the corner. Hopefully, he can stave off that regression for a few more starts and help the Cubs create some space in the Central.
Game time is 1:20. Good luck, Cubs.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (57-51) at Washington Nationals (64-43) – 1:20 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): 4.87 ERA, 5.60 FIP, 4.67 xFIP; 2.75 K/BB
versus
Nationals: Edwin Jackson (R): 3.75 ERA, 6.90 FIP, 6.00 xFIP; 1.56 K/BB
Washington Nationals:
- Brian Goodwin, CF
- Wilmer Difo, SS
- Bryce Harper, RF
- Ryan Zimmerman, 1B
- Daniel Murphy, 2B
- Anthony Rendon, 3B
- Adam Lind, LF
- Matt Wieters, C
- Edwin Jackson, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Jon Jay, CF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Willson Contreras, LF
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Alex Avila, C
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, SS
- John Lackey, P