NEWSLETTER
Tonight, the Cubs are playing their last interleague series (and last non-NL Central series) of the entire season. And while the importance of these two games, in particular, pales in comparison to the next eight games against the Brewers and Cardinals, winning both would go a very long way.
Of course, the Cubs have a tough matchup tonight against Chris Archer, whose peripherals suggest he’s having one of the best seasons of his very strong career. HOWEVER, he has struggled quite a bit in the two starts he’s made since leaving in the first inning of a game against the White Sox on September 2nd.
V. Red Sox: 3.0 IP, 9H, 6ER, 1BB, 5Ks
V. Yankees: 4.0 IP, 6H, 3ER, 3BB, 5Ks
If he’s still broken from whatever ails him, the Cubs could have caught a break by facing him now, as opposed to earlier in the year.
In the meantime, the Cubs are sending Mike Montgomery back in as a starter, despite yielding his last scheduled start to the rookie, Jen-Ho Tseng. Montgomery wound up coming in for relief in that game anyway, and surrendered two hits and a walk in his two innings of work.
He’s shown the ability to dominate in games he starts, but has also been blown up a few times too. Let’s hope we get the former Montgomery tonight against the Rays, so the Cubs can knock that magic number down a notch or two.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (83-66) at Tampa Bay Rays (73-77) – 6:10 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: Mike Montgomery (L): 3.57 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 4.38 xFIP; 1.73 K/BB
versus
Rays: Chris Archer (R): 4.06 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 3.31 xFIP; 4.20 K/BB
Tampa Bay Rays:
- Kevin Kiermaier, CF
- Steven Souza Jr., RF
- Evan Longoria, 3B
- Logan Morrison, 1B
- Wilson Ramos, C
- Lucas Duda, DH
- Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
- Corey Dickerson, LF
- Brad Miller, 2B
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Jon Jay, CF
- Ben Zobrist, LF
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Kyle Schwarber, DH
- Ian Happ, 2B
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Addison Russell, SS
- Javy Baez, 3B
