The Cubs are about to start a huge series against the second-place Milwaukee Brewers, wherein every win could be twice as sweet (and every loss, twice as bitter).
Here’s the lineup for game 1:
- Jon Jay, CF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Addison Russell, SS
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Jake Arrieta, P
In an apparent effort to keep Javy Baez and Addison Russell up the middle and in the starting lineup, Ben Zobrist was squeezed out of the order tonight.
To be fair, Zobrist could’ve probably started in right field and forced Jason Heyward to center (and/or the bench), but Joe Maddon decided, instead, to keep things close to the status quo (while giving Zobrist some more off time). In any case, this all spells Jon Jay in center and leading off.
The Brewers, meanwhile, are sending Zach Davies to the mound tonight, and he’s got pretty traditional looking splits on the surface:
V. Lefties: .327 wOBA
V. Righties: .313 wOBA
However, it’s worth pointing out that he does strike out lefties a lot more than righties (presumably, like Kyle Hendricks, because of his changeup), which means this might not be an “easy” matchup for someone like Kyle Schwarber (a lefty who strikes out a lot).
Of course, he also gives up more homers to lefties than righties, so, who knows, maybe we’re in for a 1-5, 3K, 1 HR night from the Cubs’ left fielder (this is a joke … mostly).
Jake Arrieta’s back on the mound tonight, and, as usual, we’ll have more for you on him and Davies in the Pre-Gamin, sometime closer to game time (7:10 CT). Go Cubs.