NEWSLETTER
The Cubs are headed to New York this week to face Jacob deGrom and the Mets. And while New York will be without Max Scherzer, the Cubs are still drawing Jacob deGrom (against … Adrian Sampson). Plus, the Mets are going to miss Marcus Stroman, and obviously Justin Steele (IL).
The good news is that the Cubs (currently 8th in the reverse standings) are just 1.5 games out of finishing 5th in the reverse standings. And the difference in draft lottery odds there is pretty enormous (10% vs. 3.9%). So maybe this isn’t the worst time to dive headfirst into a the deGrom buzzsaw.
The Cubs have an off-day on Thursday, followed by a trip back to Wrigley Field for three against the Rockies.
We’re Going Streaking
The Chicago Cubs (58-82) just dropped another three-game series (and seven of their last ten games), but they remain in 8th place of the reverse standings with 22 games to go.
The New York Mets (89-52) lost sole possession of first place there for a minute, but they’re back on top of the AL East with a 1.5 game lead over the Braves. They have the second best record in the National League
Hot or Not and Whom to Watch
Since August 9, Nico Hoerner (118 wRC+) Franmil Reyes (118 wRC+), Ian Happ (128 wRC+), and Seiya Suzuki (136 wRC+) have all been getting results. Hoerner, however, is the only one not hitting it with any particular authority (84.8 MPH average EV). And last night, he exited the game with an arm injury. We’ll likely learn how serious it was some time today.
Eduardo Escobar has a monster 9-game hitting streak brewing, featuring 16 hits, including a double and five homers: .500/.541/1.000 (316 wRC+).
Drew Smyly‘s last start was his best of the year: 7.0 IP, 1H, 0ER, 2BB, 8Ks. And suddenly, we’re talking about ways to possibly bring him back next season. That is, if his option is really of the club, not mutual, variety.
Jacob deGrom is Jacob deGrom. He has 63 strikeouts and just 4 walks in his 7 starts this season, with just 8 total earned runs (1.66 ERA).
Game Times and Broadcast Info
Pitching Probables
Game 1: Javier Assad (RHP) vs. Chris Bassitt (RHP)
Game 2: Adrian Sampson (RHP) vs. Jacob deGrom (RHP)
Game 3: Drew Smyly (LHP) vs. TBD
Chicago Cubs:
Injured/Unavailable: Willson Contreras, Nick Madrigal, Keegan Thompson, Steven Brault, Justin Steele, Adbert Alzolay, Codi Heuer, Ethan Roberts, Jason Heyward, Alec Mills, Kyle Hendricks, Brad Wieck
New York Mets:
Injured/Unavailable: Trevor May, Luis Guillorme, Brett Baty, Starling Marte, Drew Smith, Stephen Nogosek, Max Scherzer, Joey Lucchesi, John Curtiss, Sean Reid-Foley, Tylor Megill
By the Numbers
Run Differential:
Cubs: -105
Mets: +140
Runs Scored Per Game:
Cubs: 4.06
Mets: 4.72
Runs Allowed Per Game:
Cubs: 4.81
Mets: 3.73
