Okay, I’ve figured it out. The Cubs have lost the last two games, because both games were at night. Now that the final two games of this four-game set are during the day, the Cubs should be right back on top.
Plus, they got Jon Lester going today and when does he ever let us … oh. Well as it turns out, Lester’s last time out was not particularly good, as he allowed eight earned runs in just 3.0 innings with 5 walks and just one strikeout. Yikes. He’s now allowed 15 earned runs over his last 14.2 IP and has walked 11 during that stretch. Woof. Hopefully something SIGNIFICANT changes today, because the numbers have not been good for the All-Star.
For what it’s worth, the Diamondbacks (100 wRC+) are just outside the top ten teams in offensive production against left-handers this year, so it won’t be too easy for Lester, but it could be worse.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks are starting a lefty of their own today in the form of Robbie Ray. And for a little added reference, I’ll point out that the Cubs (105 wRC+) are one of the top 6 teams in baseball against lefties and Ray has some seriously significant splits:
Versus Lefties: .259 wOBA
Versus Righties: .383 wOBA
However, both Kris Bryant and Javier Baez are out of the lineup today, which means that lefties like Tommy La Stella and Kyle Schwarber are both in there. If both of the Cubs infielders were healthy, Ben Zobrist could’ve covered for Schwarber while Bryant stuck at third. Bad timing on that front.
The Cubs need to win today if they’d like to preserve a shot at splitting this series, so let’s hope they get after it early. Coming back is fun, but winning right away is a lot less stressful.
Game Info
Wednesday, July 25 at 1:20 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: Jon Lester (L): 3.14 ERA, 4.67 FIP; 1.93 K/BB
versus
Diamondbacks: Robbie Ray (L): 5.37 ERA, 5.00 FIP; 2.68 K/BB
Arizona Diamondbacks:
- David Peralta, LF
- Ketel Marte, 2B
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- A.J. Pollock, CF
- Steven Souza Jr., RF
- Nick Ahmen, SS
- Chris Owings, 3B
- John Ryan Murphy, C
- Robbie Ray, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Addison Russell, SS
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Ian Happ, RF
- Jon Lester, P
- Tommy La Stella, 3B