Marcus Stroman is taking the mound tonight, in what will be just his first start of the second half and third since returning from the injured list. In case you forgot, his first two starts back from the IL were productive, but short: 8.1 IP, 1ER, 3H, 3BB, 9Ks.
Of course, that’s not particularly surprising for a guy who’s pitched as little as he has lately. Plus, the Dodgers and Mets are two pretty good teams, so the results are nice to see, regardless of the length. I think he’s set up for some continued success, especially if he can be a little more efficient.
Starting opposite Stroman is Phillies righty Zack Wheeler.
Wheeler is having another *excellent* season, with a 2.89 ERA over 17 starts and 99.2 IP. He’s been stingy with the walks (5.4%), he’s struck out plenty (26.7%), and he does not allow a lot of hard contact (86.2 MPH average exit velocity). You can elevate on him, but doing that while making hard contact is just not easy.
The Cubs will need some luck to win this one in Philly.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (35-57) at Philadelphia Phillies (49-43) – Saturday, July 23 at 5:05 CT on MARQ, 670 The Score
Starting Pitchers
Phillies: Zack Wheeler, RHP
Cubs: Marcus Stroman, RHP
Chicago Cubs (Lineup Discussion):
- Rafael Ortega, CF
- Willson Contreras, C
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Ian Happ, LF
- Nico Hoerner, SS
- Patrick Wisdom, DH
- Alfonso Rivas, 1B
- David Bote, 3B
- Chris Morel, 2B
Philadelphia Phillies:
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Rhys Hoskins, 1B
- Nick Castellanos, RF
- Darick Hall, DH
- J.T. Realmuto, C
- Bryson Stott, 2B
- Didi Gregorius, SS
- Alec Bohm, 3B
- Odubel Herrera, CF