NEWSLETTER
The Cubs are already a season-high 20 games over .500 with a season-high 3.5 game lead in the NL Central, but now really feels like the right time to step on the gas.
And the right pitcher may be on the mound for the Cubs tonight: Cole Hamels. We discussed Hamels hot start with his new team earlier today, pointing out that some extra clicks on his fastball, allows him to use it inside more often, setting up his changeup away. We also learned that, without those extra clicks in his second start, he wasn’t able to get as many whiffs as he’d otherwise preferred. So tonight, be on the lookout to see if he’s working in the 93-95 MPH range consistently, because if he is, he could be in store for a fourth great start.
Starting opposite Hamels is the young right-hander Trevor Williams. Williams, 26, has gotten some pretty good results this year (3.66 ERA), but doesn’t strike guys out, allows his fair share of free passes, and struggles to keep the ball on the ground. His biggest strength is limiting hard contact, though, so hopefully he’ll be off his game tonight.
I should point out, however, that his last start was a beauty: 7.0 IP, 5H, 0ER, 1BB, 2Ks. So … yeah. Good luck, Cubs!
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (70-50) at Pittsburgh Pirates (61-61) – Friday, August 17th at 6:05 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: Cole Hamels (L):Â 1.00 ERA, 1.94 FIP; 5.00
versus
Pirates: Trevor Williams (R):Â 3.66 ERA, 4.27 FIP; 2.00 K/BB
Pittsburgh Pirates:
- Corey Dickerson, LF
- Starling Marte, CF
- Gregory Polanco, RF
- David Freese, 3B
- Francisco Cervelli, C
- Josh Bell, 1B
- Josh Harrison, 2B
- Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
- Trevor Williams, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ian Happ, CF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Javier Baez, 3B
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Victor Caratini, C
- Cole Hamels, P
- Addison Russell, SS
