NEWSLETTER
At the end of this four-game series against the Diamondbacks, the Chicago Cubs will have played nine straight games at Wrigley Field, against just two teams. That’s weird and kinda fun, right?
Indeed, the Cubs have four more games at Wrigley Field this week, before they head to St. Louis for a quick three-gamer, followed by their first off-day of the second-half. If they can hold on tight for this next short stretch of games, they could really solidify their position in the standings heading into August.
Of course, they have arguably their worst pitching matchup of the season on tap tonight, with Patrick Corbin going for Arizona and a fill-in starter, Luke Farrell, going for the Cubs. The move does give the rotation a breather, though, and allows others to work on normal rest (which was otherwise ruined by the double-header on Saturday).
We’re Going Streaking
The Chicago Cubs (58-40) kicked off their second half with a 5-game series win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs remain in first place and have built up a season-high 3.5 game lead over the second place Brewers.
The Arizona Diamondbacks (54-46) lost their first series after the break and it was against their rivals in Colorado, to boot. With that, the Rockies have moved within a half-game of the Diamondbacks, who, themselves, are just 1.5 games behind the Dodgers.
Game Times and Broadcasts Info
Chicago Cubs
Probable Pitchers:
Active Depth Chart:
Unavailable: Brandon Morrow, Drew Smyly, Yu Darvish, Justin Hancock, Anthony Bass, Eddie Butler
Arizona Diamondbacks
Probable Pitchers:
Active Depth Chart:
Unavailable: T.J. McFarland, Deven Marrero, Jarrod Dyson, Taijuan Walker, Shelby Miller
Keep An Eye Out For …
Cubs Pitcher: Jesse Chavez has started his Cubs career out right, with a scoreless inning, featuring two strikeouts and nothing else. If he can continue getting the results he’s gotten all season long, the Cubs bullpen will have gotten a huge boost.
Cubs Player: Anthony Rizzo is straight up on fire. In his last 38 plate appearances, he’s slashing .556/.658/.815 (275 wRC+), with a 21.1% walk rate and 13.2% strikeout rate. Obviously, that’s not something he can keep up, but it would be just swell if he could ride this wave for as long as possible. It’s already helped bring his season-long slash line up to .262/.365/.428 (111 wRC+), which is obviously not in line with his career numbers, but still above average and so much better than where he was just before the break.
Diamondbacks Pitcher: Robbie Ray likely gives the Cubs their best chance of winning this week, because his 5.37 ERA is mostly justified by his 5.00 FIP. Interestingly, however, Ray has struck out 31.3% of the batters he’s faced this season, which is crazy high for a starter. He’s only started 11 games, but that’s a pretty big sample. Watch out for some swing and miss when the Cubs get Ray, but, again, also be prepared for a big game.
Diamondbacks Player: Paul Goldschmidt is having another simply fantastic season, slashing .274/.381/.519 overall with 3.0 WAR already. He’s only stolen three bases this season, though, which is unusual for him (18 last year, 32 the year prior). But he is getting older, so maybe he’s just abandoning that pat of his game. One big difference from this season to others, however, is that Goldschmidt is striking out more than he ever has before. His 27.6% K-rate this season is WELL above his 22.6% career mark and shows a marked decline in, well, something. Hopefully, the Cubs starters can exploit that this week and keep one of the game’s most dangerous hitter at bay.
Also, did you see this yet, because wow:
Miguel Montero, Randy Johnson, Paul Goldschmidt and Others Re-Created the Famous Mound Visit from “Bull Durham” https://t.co/mQ2No7gDbl pic.twitter.com/02MDmAaK1N
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) July 23, 2018
