Tonight, the Chicago Cubs pretty much have a must-win game.
I know that’s not necessarily the case, but, frankly, even a split against this terrible Reds team – at home – at this point in the season would be pretty unsavory. S0, yeah, the Cubs should put the pedal to the metal starting right at 7:05.
And that all starts with the pitcher, John Lackey, who’ll look to keep his recent streak of success going (3.62 ERA over past six starts). Indeed, Lackey’s latest start was a 5.1 inning, 3ER effort against a very good Diamondbacks team and inspired some more optimism about the rest of his season. To be sure, the D-backs did hit two balls out of the park in that one (Lackey’s kryptonite this season), but he didn’t allow a lot of hard contact whatsoever – and a 33.3% HR/FB ratio will never keep up.
Opposing Lackey is long-time Reds pitcher, Homer Bailey. Bailey is having a nightmare season on the mound (8.31 ERA, 5.84 FIP through 10 starts), but he did allow just two earned runs in 5.0 innings against the Brewers on the 11th and one earned run over 6.0 innings against the Pirates three starts ago. Maybe the Cubs will have better luck than the rest of the NL Central.
I’ll be at the game tonight out in the right-field bleachers, so if you see me, say hi!
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (62-56) at Cincinnati Reds (50-70) – 7:05 CT 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.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: John Lackey (R): 4.82 ERA, 5.63 FIP, 4.65 xFIP; 2.73 K/BB
versus
Reds: Homer Bailey (R): 8.31 ERA, 5.84 FIP, 5.38 xFIP; 1.26 K/BB
Cincinnati Reds:
- Billy Hamilton, CF
- Zack Cozart, SS
- Joey Votto, 1B
- Eugenio Suarez, 3B
- Scooter Gennett, LF
- Jesse Winker, RF
- Jose Peraza, 2B
- Tucker Barnhart, C
- Homer Bailey, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Alex Avila, C
- Ian Happ, CF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, SS
- John Lackey, P