NEWSLETTER
Tonight, the Royals will get a crack at another Cubs lefty, Mike Montgomery, but the look should be much different. They should still expect plenty of curveballs, like Cole Hamels used yesterday, but they should expect lower velocity fastballs and some more change-ups along the way.
Montgomery, you’ll recall, is coming off a 5.1 IP start against the Padres in which he allowed a ton of hits for the second straight game (19 hits in his last 10.1 IP), but limited the damage to just one earned run thanks to just one walk, a ton of grounders, and very little hard contact. All things considered, that’s one of the best, realistic versions of Mike Montgomery. Hopefully, that guys returns tonight – perhaps with a few more swings and misses.
Starting for the Royals is fellow swing-man, Brad Keller. Keller has made 11 starts this season and 21 other appearances in relief. Most recently, he went 6.1 IP against the White Sox allowed just two earned runs and striking out nine. He has been a little wild lately, though, walking 17 batters in his last 26.1 IP (14.2%). Keller is not much of a strikeout artist, but he does keep the ball on the ground and limit the hard stuff. Of course, he’s done all of that a lot better as a reliever than a starter, so the Cubs should be in store for a juicy matchup.
We’ve been saying that a lot lately though, so who knows. Go Cubs.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (65-47) at Kansas City Royals (34-78) –Â Tuesday, August 7th 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: Mike Montgomery (L): 3.90 ERA, 4.04 FIP; 1.93 K/BB
versus
Royals: Brad Keller (R):Â 3.39 ERA, 3.67 FIP; 1.54 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
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Ben Zobrist, LF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- David Bote, 3B
- Kyle Schwarber, DH
- Ian Happ, CF
- Addison Russell, SS
- Victor Caratini, C
