The Cubs’ second-half started off with a tough five-game series against the Cardinals, and after having won that weekend set, they’ve been rewarded with a matchup against Patrick Corbin and the Diamondbacks. Yay.
Corbin has been extremely good this year – in fact, he’s having his best season yet (3.24 ERA, 2.82 FIP) and has already earned nearly as much WAR this season (3.3) as any other FULL year he’s played (previous high: 3.5 WAR). He’s striking out batters at over a 30% clip and walking them at a below-average 7.1%. He’s also getting a ton of ground balls … BUT there is a “but.”
Corbin has actually allowed a TON of hard contact this season (43.1%), so much so that he’s among the bottom three in all of baseball. Which is especially interested given that he’s currently rocking a career-low BABIP of .283, well below his .309 average. So, basically, put the ball in play, Cubs, and see what happens.
(Spot) Starting opposite Corbin is Minor Leaguer Luke Farrell. The Cubs decided to push off their need for a sixth starter after the Cardinals series, so here we are. Perhaps it makes the most sense to do it on a day when the offense will have their hands full anyway. Maybe there’s a big upset. That would be fun. I suppose we’ll see.
Game Info
Monday, July 23 at 7:05 CT on CSN-C, 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: Luke Farrell (R): 3.86 ERA, 4.80 FIP; 2.64 K/BB
versus
Diamondbacks: Patrick Corbin (L): 3.24 ERA, 2.82 FIP; 4.26 K/BB
Arizona Diamondbacks:
- Jon Jay, CF
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- David Peralta, LF
- A.J. Pollock, CF
- Jake Lamb, 3B
- Ketel Marte, SS
- Daniel Descalso, 2B
- Jeff Mathis, C
- Patrick Corbin, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Addison Russell, SS
- Ben Zobrist, RF
- Ian Happ, LF
- Luke Farrell, P