Alright, Well … There’s Still Baseball To Play: Mariners at Cubs, September 2-3, 2019

The Cubs will play host to the Seattle Mariners this week, in what will be the second-to-last series against a non-NL Central team all year. After this quick, two-game set, the Cubs have an off-day on Wednesday, and then begin a stretch of 18-straight games.

Here’s how that long stretch goes:

  • Brewers: four-game series (road)
  • Padres: four-game series (road)
  • Pirates: three-game series (home)
  • Reds: three-game series (home)
  • Cardinals: four-game series (home)
  • There’s an off-day after that Cardinals series, then six straight contests (Pirates and Cardinals) on the road to end the season – all of these games against NL Central rivals in September makes this series against the already-eliminated Mariners feel so out of place. Oh well.

    Cubs better start winning against whomever they can beat:

    We’re Going Streaking

    The Chicago Cubs (73-63) looked like they had things under control after sweeping the Mets and taking game 1 from the Brewers, but they’ve lost two in a row and are now 3.0 games behind the Cardinals with just 26 games to go

    The Seattle Mariners (58-80) have been eliminated from contention in their division and have an elimination number of just 4 for the Wild Card. Their season is over. The Cubs better take advantage.

    Game Times and Broadcasts Info

  • Monday, September 2nd at 1:20 CT on WGN, 670 The Score
  • Tuesday, September 3rd at 7:05 CT on NBCSCH, 670 The Score
  • Pitching Matchups

    Game 1: Justus Sheffield (L) v. Kyle Hendricks (R)
    Game 2: Felix Hernandez (R) v. Jon Lester (L)

    Chicago Cubs

  • C – Victor Caratini
  • 1B – Anthony Rizzo
  • 2B – Ian Happ/Ben Zobrist?
  • 3B – Kris Bryant
  • SS – Javy Baez(?)/Addison Russell
  • LF – Kyle Schwarber
  • CF – Jason Heyward
  • RF – Nicholas Castellanos
  • Unavailable: Willson Contreras, Derek Holland, Xavier Cedeno, Brandon Morrow, Allen Webster

    Seattle Mariners

  • C – Omar Narvaez
  • 1B – Austin Nola
  • 2B – Dee Gordon
  • 3B – Kyle Seager
  • SS – J.P. Crawford
  • LF – Tim Lopes
  • CF – Jake Fraley
  • RF – Mallex Smith
  • Unavailable: Domingo Santana, Chasen Bradford, Connor Sadzeck

    Keep An Eye Out For …

    Cubs Pitcher: Kyle Hendricks was tagged for six earned runs over just 4.2 IP his last time out, which is frustrating because that followed two excellent, 7.0-IP starts with jus 1 earned run combined before that. I don’t know which Hendricks we’re going to get today – or for the rest of the season – but if he’s not getting on top of his game, this team isn’t going anywhere.

    Cubs Player: Ben Zobrist is not going to be the guy making the biggest impact down the stretch, but I’m desperate to see what, if anything, he can bring to this team. I believe Joe Maddon was not planning to start Zobrist today, but maybe tomorrow. We’ll see him soon enough, especially if Javy Baez needs to miss any time.

    Mariners Pitcher: Felix Hernandez will be making his 11th start of the season against the Cubs tomorrow. But even though he’s only 33-years-old, it’s been quite some time since he’s been King Felix. The Cubs should be perfectly capable of hitting the guy with a 6.02 ERA.

    Mariners Player: Kyle Seager has basically been the Mariners only offensive weapon in the second-half of the season, so if they stay away from him, they should be able to limit the damage.

    written by

    Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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