NEWSLETTER
Although the slow increase in interleague games over the last decade+ has made these sort of matchups more common than they were when we were growing up, I still get geeked about some Cubs-Yankees action. It’s fun to see two historic teams meet up on foreign ground, even if one is the best in baseball and the other is fighting not to be the worst.
So, yes, I am excited about watching the Cubs head to New York to take on the mighty Yankees, especially because it’ll be a reunion with Anthony Rizzo.
Setting that aside, the Cubs schedule has been truly absurd lately. After a stretch in which they played 11 games in 9 days with FOUR going into extra innings, the Cubs have now played one game since Sunday. That has thrown their pitching staff for a loop, though we do know Wade Miley is coming off the IL for his first start tonight and Matt Swarmer is going to test his two-pitch mix against one of the toughest teams in baseball on Saturday.
With all of that said, the Cubs don’t have another scheduled day-off until June 27, which is 17 straight games, including 10-straight to start against the Yankees, Padres, and Braves. Ouch. Hold on tight, everybody. This ride is about to get bumpy.
We’re Going Streaking
The Chicago Cubs (23-33) are ten games under .500 and have lost three in a row. They’re tied for the 5th worst record in MLB and their season is toast.
The New York Yankees (41-16)Â are 25 games over .500 based largely on the strength of their pitching staff, which has been – by far – the best in MLB: 10 WAR (1st), 3.07 Runs Allowed Per Game (1st), 2.94 ERA (1st), 25.1 K% (2nd), 6.7 BB% (1st), 2.13 AVG Allowed (1st)
Hot or Not and What to Watch
Christopher Morel’s on-base streak lives at 21 games, so that’ll be our first exciting thing to track this weekend. But note, after a little “slump” there in the middle, where he was managing just one hit or one walk per game to keep the streak alive, Morel has busted back out over his last six-game hitting streak: 10 total hits, half of which went for extra bases, and a walk.
But for as great as Morel has been, Willson Contreras has been better. Over the last two weeks, Contreras is sporting a .326/.442/.674 (206 wRC+) slash line with globs of hard contact, a walk-rate nearing 14% and a strikeout rate under 20%. He’s a star.
There’s going to be some LOUD contact this weekend:Â
Four of the top-10 hard-contact hitters will be playing at Yankee Stadium this weekend.
Average Exit Velocity Leaderboard:
1. Giancarlo Stanton: 97.3 MPH
2. Aaron Judge: 96.2 MPH
…
6. Willson Contreras: 93.5 MPH
10. Patrick Wisdom: 92.6 MPH— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) June 10, 2022
Hot and Cold Yankees: Over the last two weeks, Aaron Judge (182 wRC+), Gleyber Torres (179 wRC+), DJ LeMahieu (178 wRC+), and Joey Gallo (156 wRC+) have been absolutely on fire, but Anthony Rizzo (66 wRC+) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (86 wRC+) have been ice cold.
Speaking of Rizzo, he definitely cooled way off there for a minute, but he does have three homers in his last six games and 14 overall. And I don’t think a .197 BABIP is necessarily sustainable with as much hard contact and launch angle as he’s delivering. I think he’s probably swinging it just fine at the moment and just hasn’t gotten a ton of results.
Game Times and Broadcasts Info
•  Friday, June 10 at 6:05 CT on MARQ, Amazon PV, 670 The Score,
•  Saturday, June 11 at 6:15 CT on FOX, 670 The Score
•  Sunday, June 12 at 12:35 CT on MARQ, MLBN, 670 The Score
Pitching Probables
Game 1:Â Wade Miley (L) vs. Luis Severino (R)
Game 2:Â Matt Swarmer (R) vs. Jordan Montgomery (L)
Game 3:Â TBD vs. Jameson Taillon (R)
Chicago Cubs
•  C – Willson Contreras
•  1B – Frank Schwindel
•  2B – Nick Madrigal
•  3B – Patrick Wisdom
•  SS – Nico Hoerner
•  LF – Ian Happ
•  CF – Christopher Morel
•  RF – Jason Heyward
•  DH – Rafael Ortega
Injured/Unavailable: Michael Hermosillo, Yan Gomes, Seiya Suzuki, Jonathan Villar, Sean Newcomb, Drew Smyly, David Bote, Adbert Alzolay, Brad Wieck, Codi Heuer, Manny Rodriguez, Ethan Roberts
New York Yankees
•  C – Jose Trevino
•  1B – Anthony Rizzo
•  2B – Gleyber Torres
•  3B – DJ LeMahieu/Josh Donaldson
•  SS – Isiah Kiner-Falefa
•  LF – Aaron Hicks
•  CF – Aaron Judge
•  RF – Joey Gallo
•  DH – Giancarlo Stanton
Injured/Unavailable: Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Domingo Germán, Stephen Ridings, Ben Rortvedt, Chad Green
By the Numbers:
Run Differential:
Cubs: -19
Yankees: +104
Runs Scored Per Game:
Cubs: 4.43
Yankees: 4.89
Runs Allowed Per Game:
Cubs: 4.77
Yankees: 3.07
