NEWSLETTER
One down, three to go.
The Cubs pulled out a huge win last night, while knocking their magic number down to just six for the season. Win again tonight and the Brewers and/or Cardinals would need a miracle to change their fate.
Starting for the Cubs tonight is right-hander John Lackey. Lackey had been pitching quite well in his last start, before being ejected for twice arguing balls and strikes. But in any case, he has been ON lately.
September: 18.2 IP, 10H, 4ER, 4BB, 18 Ks.
Hopefully, he continues this hot streak tonight in a hugely important game.
Opposing Lackey and the Cubs is the 24-year-old rookie right-hander Brandon Woodruff. Woodruff’s numbers have been quite good this season (3.28 ERA, 3.69 FIP), but he’s done that over just six starts at the MLB level. Two starts ago, he was blown up by the Pirates for six earned runs in 5.0 IP, but he bounced back quite nicely with a 7.0 inning, 3ER performance against the Marlins with no walks.
Woodruff doesn’t strikeout many guys, but he doesn’t walk many either. He’s also got a great batted ball profile, with better-than-average ground ball rate, soft-hit rate, and hard-hit rate. He doesn’t have a ton of experience, but this won’t be a walk in the park.
Let’s see if the offense can crack Woodruff, Lackey can hold up, and the Cubs can inch themselves closer to the promised land.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (85-67) at Milwaukee Brewers (81-72) – 6:35 CT on WGN, ESPN, 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): 4.62 ERA, 5.27 FIP, 4.57 xFIP; 2.94 K/BB
versus
Brewers: Brandon Woodruff (R): 3.28 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 4.35 xFIP; 2.80 K/BB
Milwaukee Brewers:
- Eric Sogard, SS
- Neil Walker, 2B
- Ryan Braun, LF
- Travis Shaw, 3B
- Domingo Santana, RF
- Eric Thames, 1B
- Stephen Vogt, C
- Brett Phillips, CF
- Brandon Woodruff, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Jon Jay, CF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Alex Avila, C
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, SS
- John Lackey, P
