The first-place Cubs (oh yeah, the Cubs are in first … weird how easy it is to forget that) are squaring off against the last-place Toronto Blue Jays in a rare meet-up at Wrigley Field this afternoon.
And, peeking down at the Blue Jays lineup, I see a couple of old friends:
Who's ready for some Darwin Barney and Miguel Montero this weekend?!
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) August 18, 2017
Indeed, two former Cubs, Montero and Barney, are both in the lineup today for the first of three games at Wrigley. I’m particularly interested to see the reception Montero receives as he steps up to the plate after a rocky exit from Chicago earlier this year.
On the mound for the Blue Jays, you’ll find J.A. Happ, whose latest start was a 6.0 inning, 4-hit, 1-run effort against the Pirates. He’s allowed just one earned run in each of his last three games, as a matter of fact, and has looked pretty strong throughout (23 strikeouts to 8 walks).
But a surging Jake Arrieta will toe the rubber for the Cubs, and he’s been a nice little hot streak lately, too:
Jake Arrieta has gone at least 6.0 IP while allowing 2 or fewer earned runs in each of his six second-half starts (2.09 ERA).
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) August 18, 2017
His FIP during that stretch is a bit higher (3.71), but it’s still well-above average. And, in any case, his tiny 24.3% hard-hit rate helps explains a lot of the difference there (he has gotten a fair amount of medium contact, though).
Let’s see if he can keep it up and give the Cubs a fighting shot at winning this series before heading out onto the road next week.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (63-57) at Toronto Blue Jays (59-62) – 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: Jake Arrieta (R): 3.73 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 4.05 xFIP; 3.00 K/BB
versus
Blue Jays: J.A. Happ (L): 3.63 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 4.01 xFIP; 3.00 K/BB
Toronto Blue Jays:
- Jose Bautista, RF
- Josh Donaldson, 3B
- Justin Smoak, 1B
- Steve Pearce, LF
- Miguel Montero, C
- Kevin Pillar, CF
- Goins, SS
- Darwin Barney, 2B
- J.A. Happ, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, LF
- Ian Happ, 2B
- Victor Caratini, C
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, SS
- Jake Arrieta, P