Me tonight: FINALLY … the Cubs’ last game before they get a scheduled off-day in, like, forever.
Me tomorrow: UGH … I hate off-days, baseball should be played 364 days a year and there should only be one day off and that’s November 2nd, to celebrate the Cubs 2016 World Series and celebration should be mandatory.
But more to the point, the Cubs have their 30th scheduled game in 30 days tonight and they could sweep the Diamondbacks with a win. A win would also drop their magic number to 7 (regardless of what the Brewers do) and give the Cubs yet another 90-win season under their belt. That’s quite a lot to accomplish in one night.
Luckily, the Cubs have Cole Hamels going for them this evening, and he’s been a godsend since joining the club back in August. If he keeps up his usual Cub-pace, the team will do just fine. Oh, and remember: the D-Backs had trouble with Kyle Hendricks and Mike Montgomery’s changeup these past two games, so look for more of that from Hamels tonight.
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old Robbie Ray is throwing for the Diamondbacks tonight and he’s been relatively hittable all season long. He does have an insanely high (30.9%) strikeout rate though, so be prepared for some whiffs. It happens to everybody.
My money is on Willson Contreras having a big night tonight, but I wouldn’t mind watching Cole Hamels cruise through a bunch of innings and give that bullpen an extra break before the off day.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (89-62) at Arizona Diamondbacks (78-74) – Wednesday, September 19th at 8:40 CT on CSNC, 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): 3.97 ERA, 4.41 FIP; 2.08 K/BB
versus
Diamondbacks: Robbie Ray (L): 4.14 ERA, 4.34 FIP; 2.41 K/BB
- Jon Jay, RF
- Ildemaro Vargas, 3B
- Ketel Marte, 2B
- Walker, 1B
- Kivlehan, LF
- Nick Ahmed, SS
- Chris Owings, CF
- Jeff Mathis, C
- Robbie Ray, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Kris Bryant, LF
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Ben Zobrist, RF
- Willson Contreras, C
- David Bote, 3B
- Cole Hamels, P
- Addison Russell, SS
