Hey, everyone. It’s Cole Hamels Day … Part II!
Indeed, after a solid Cubs debut against Pittsburgh last week, Hamels is slated to make his second start in Cubbie-blue later tonight against the Royals. And while he may have lasted only 5.0 innings his last time out, he did manage to strike out nine batters and get a TON of whiffs, so a repeat performance would be more than welcomed. Even if it were short.
Of note: The Royals have an 83 wRC+ against southpaws, like Hamels, this season, and that’s tied for 3rd worst in baseball.
Starting opposite the veteran left-hander is the 25-year-old right-hander Jakob Junis. Junis has made 20 starts for the Royals this season, earning a 5.12 ERA along the way. He doesn’t walk many guys, but he doesn’t strike them out either. Because of that and his 41.1% hard-hit rate, I’d say the Cubs should come out swinging. But be warned: the Royals defense is tops in the league by FanGraphs’ Def rating, so the Cubs may be at the mercy of the BABIP Gods tonight.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (64-47) at Kansas City Royals (34-77) –Â Monday, August 6th at 7:15 CT on CSCN-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: Cole Hamels (L):Â 0.00 ERA, 1.36 FIP; 4.50 K/BB (with Cubs)
versus
Royals: Jake Junis (R):Â 5.12 ERA, 5.41 FIP; 3.03 K/BB
Kansas City Royals:
- Whit Merrifield, CF
- Alex Gordon, LF
- Salvador Perez, C
- Hunter Dozier, 3B
- Rosell Herrera, RF
- Jorge Bonifacio, DH
- Raul Mondesi, 2B
- Alcides Escobar, SS
- Drew Butera, 1B
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, 3B
- Kyle Schwarber, DH
- Willson Contreras, C
- Ian Happ, LF
- Addison Russell, SS
- Albert Almora Jr., CF