2019 Gameday Thread

CHC (11-10): LHP Cole Hamels (3.0, 2.77 ERA)
LAD (15-10): RHP Walker Buehler (2-0, 5.40 ERA)
First pitch 7:05pmCDT

The Cubs earned an exciting victory in the opener last night. The dominant Quintana showed up again and Javy Baez proved that he can still do whatever the f*** he wants. Tonight the crew gets to work putting .500 further in the rear-view mirror.

CHC (10-10): Josè Quintana (2-1, 3.43 ERA)
LAD (15-9): Kenta Maeda (3-1, 3.80 ERA)
First pitch 7:05pmCDT

The Dodgers roll into Chicago with the best record in the National League and the second best offense in MLB. The Cubs face a tough road to their first winning record since opening day.

CHC (9-10): RHP Tyler Chatwood (0-0, 6.00 ERA)
ARZ (11-10): LHP Robbie Ray (0-1, 4.64)
First pitch 1:20pmCDT

Chatwood makes his first start of 2019 after having the earlier opportunity yoinked away by a rain out. The official line is that the Cubs are playing the matchups by using Chatwood against ARZ and pushing Quintana back. But AZ Phil suggested they might also intend for ARZ to get a look at Chatwood for a potential trade. The key for Chatwood continues to be commanding his fastball.

CHC (9-9): RHP Yu Darvish (1-2, 6.11 ERA)
ARZ (10-10): RHP Zack Greinke (2-1, 5.79 ERA)
First pitch 1:20pmCDT

Yesterday's win brought the record to .500. The division standings now resemble pre-season expectations, with the top four teams within 2.5 games of each other.

CHC (8-9): RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-3, 5.40 ERA)
ARZ (10-9): RHP Merrill Kelly (1-1, 3.79 ERA)
First pitch at 1:20pmCDT

Kyle Hendricks will take the mound to open the six-game homestand. Nothing has looked right for the changeup artist in the early going. His strikeouts are down, his walks are up, he’s not getting enough groundballs, and the results have been what you’d expect with those peripherals. The current Diamondbacks roster has struggled against him to the tune of 11 hits, 2 walks, and no homeruns in 55 ABs. So far, the Diamondbacks have a middle-of-the-pack team offense. They are 9th in the NL in wRC+ and 7th in wOBA.

CHC (7-9): LHP Cole Hamels (2-0, 3.79 ERA)
MIA (4-14): RHP Sandy Alcantara (1-1, 4.24 ERA)
First pitch 6:10pmCDT

Hamels takes the mound as the Cubs go for the sweep in Miami. The lefty pitched 8 innings in his last start allowing a solo HR as the only scoring. He’s done a good job keeping guys off the bases, and his 50% GB rate bodes well for his season. It would be encouraging to see him suppress HRs a bit more. Watch out for Martin Prado, who has slashed .319/.347/.478 against Hamels in 69 ABs.

CHC (6-9): LHP José Quintana (1-1, 5.14 ERA)
MIA (4-13): RHP Pablo López (1-2, 6.60 ERA)
First pitch 6:10pmCDT

Quintana is coming off a win against the angels in which he pitched 7 innings and struck out 11. He'll try to continue the stretch of decent starting pitching that the Cubs have sorely needed. The strikeouts in his last start stand out, but he also collected 8 SOs in 4 innings in his relief appearance on March 30. He sports a 14.14 K/9 and 4.50 BB/9. The Marlins have collectively slashed a paltry .200/.328/.382 against him in 55 at bats, with Starlin Castro contributing an 0-18 and 3 walks.

CHC (5-9): RHP Yu Darvish (0-2, 7.50 ERA)
MIA (4-12): RHP Trevor Richards (0-1, 2.00 ERA)
First pitch 6:10pmCDT

Management opts to skip Chatwood's spot start after the postponement, and Darvish takes the mound in Miami. He was a little bit better last time around, allowing 5 hits and 0 BBs n 5.1 IP. But he was tagged for 2 homeruns and the bullpen let him down. Did you know Curtis Granderson is still in the majors? At 38 years old and on his 16th major league season, Granderson is 1-12 against Darvish.

CHC (5-8): RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-2)
LAA (7-7): RHP Chris Stratton (0-1)
First pitch 1:20pmCDT

The Cubs send Kyle Hendricks to the mound for his turn to be good after strong starts from Quintana and Hamels. The righty has lost his first two starts and looked generally out-of-whack. We may see Pujols again; he homered yesterday and Justin Bour is 1-14 against Hendricks. Zack Cozart is 4-12 with a HR against him.

CHC (4-8): LHP Cole Hamels (1-0)

LAA (7-6): LHP Tyler Skaggs (1-1)

First pitch 1:20pmCDT

The Cubs take on the Angels in a weekday matinee attended, presumably, by truants and the unemployed. There’s no rain in the forecast for these rapscallions.