Zach Davies is taking the ball for the Cubs this afternoon for his 11th start of the season. On paper, the first five starts (9.47 ERA, 6.22 FIP) were a lot worse then his next five (1.71 ERA, 4.18 FIP). But in reality, he probably wasn’t ever quite that bad and he’s certainly not been as good as the May ERA suggests.
He still struggles the third time through the order and so isn’t capable of lasting very deep into games. The Cubs bullpen has been so good lately that it hasn’t mattered much, but I’d rather not continue banking on it. The rotation needs to carry more of the load and outside of Adbert Alzolay and Kyle Hendricks, that hasn’t really been happening too consistently.
Davies did face the Reds earlier this year: 4.0 IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 3K
We discussed Luis Castillo, starting for the Reds, in greater depth earlier today. The short version? He’s struggling quite a bit this season. I’m not entirely sure why without a deeper dive, because his velocity is normal and his pitch mix is the same as always. I wonder if the new baseball is having an unexpected impact on his performance. He wouldn’t be alone in that.
Alright, win today and you win the series. Let’s go, Cubs.
Game Info
Cincinnati Reds (22-27) at Chicago Cubs (28-22) – Saturday, May 29th at 1:20 CT on MARQ, 670 The Score
Starting Pitchers
Reds: Luis Castillo (R)
versus
Cubs: Zach Davies (R)
Chicago Cubs (Lineup Discussion):
1. Joc Pederson, LF
2. Kris Bryant, 1B
3. Javy Baez, SS
4. Ian Happ, CF
5. Willson Contreras, C
6. Rafael Ortega, RF
7. David Bote, 3B
8. Eric Sogard, 2B
9. Zach Davies, P
Cincinnati Reds:
1. Eugenio Suarez, SS
2. Jesse Winker, LF
3. Nick Castellanos, RF
4. Tyler Naquin, CF
5. Tyler Stephenson, 1B
6. Max Schrock, 3B
7. Jonathan India, 2B
8. Luis Castillo, P
9. Alex Blandino, 1B