The Cubs won the first one yesterday afternoon, which means they have a shot to make this weekend a great one with just one more win today.
Here’s the line for Game Two:
- Jon Jay, CF
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ian Happ, 2B
- Alex Avila, C
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, SS
- Jose Quintana, P
I’m not a superstitious person by any means, but I’ve just been so thoroughly pleased with Kyle Schwarber’s performance in the second half of the season (.277/.381/.578; 147 wRC+), that I’ve been scared to talk about it, less I spook it away. Especially because of how often he’s been batting second in the order lately, which is one of the most important positions in a lineup (to the extent that the order matters).
Fortunately, Schwarber will face the right-hander Nick Tepesch today, though it’s worth pointing out that Tepesch has actually been a reverse split guy for his career (though, in reality it’s just all batters hit him well). And with a four-game hit streak on the line, you’d love to see him stay hot.
Schwarber is joined by five other lefties in the lineup today (including Quintana), plus two switch-hitters. That means Tepesch will get just two righties this afternoon, and they are Javy Baez (145 wRC+ in the second half) and Kris Bryant (149 wRC+ in the second half). Good luck with that.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (1:20 CT).