The Cubs and Marlins are set up for a rubber match this evening, after the Marlins “increased” their lead in the reverse standings with a loss last night. If the Cubs win again tonight, they will likely be headed towards an 8th-to-last place (or higher) finish no matter what.
Marcus Stroman is on the mound for the Cubs tonight following a great performance against the Rockies at Wrigley Field: 7.0 IP, 3H, 1ER, 2BB, 5Ks. In fact, his numbers since returning from the IL on July 9 are pretty solid across the board: 2.74 ERA (3.65 FIP) with a 57.1% groundball rate(!), and a 5.5% barrel rate. Really solid stuff.
The left-hander, Jesús Luzardo, stands opposite Stroman tonight, coming off a quality start against the Nationals: 6.0 IP, 5H, 2ER, 1BB, 6Ks. He was blown up by the Mets just before that (5 earned runs in 3.1 IP), but had four straight really excellent starts prior to:
@LAD: 6.1 IP, 4H, 1ER, 2BB, 7Ks
@OAK: 7.0 IP, 2H, 2ER, 2BB, 4Ks
vsTBR: 6.0 IP, 6H, 3ER, 2BB, 4Ks
@PHI: 7.0 IP, 4H, 2ER, 2BB, 9Ks
He’ll be a tough matchup for the Cubs, who are continuing on undermanned on offense.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (63-85) at Miami Marlins (61-88) – Wednesday, September 21 at 5:40 CT on Marquee, 670 The Score
Starting Pitchers
Marlins: Jesús Luzardo, LHP
Cubs: Marcus Stroman, RHP
Chicago Cubs (Lineup Discussion):
- TBA
Miami Marlins:
- Jon Berti, LF
- Miguel Rojas, SS
- Charles Leblanc, 2B
- Garrett Cooper, DH
- JJ Bleday, RF
- Bryan De La Cruz, CF
- Nick Fortes, C
- Jordan Groshans, 3B
- Lewin Diaz, 1B