2021 Gameday Thread

The Cubs begin their final homestand before the trade deadline with a 3-game series against opponents they recently faced, the Diamondbacks. See below for the weekend's pitching matchups.

The Cubs and the Cardinals have their final meeting before the 2021 trade deadline--with the Cubs looking to become big-time sellers and the at this point stubbornly holding on to potential free agents (Molina, Wainwright, Miller, and Kim). They'll start the series tied and nine full games behind the Brewers, two behind the Reds. The Wild Card outlook is not much better. See below for the projected matchups (to-be updated when possible).

The Cubs dropped the final game in Cincinnati in dramatic fashion, letting the back-and-forth slugfest fade away with a soft single from Castellanos. It was a more competitive series than many we've seen from the Cubs this year. But it was also costly. They are now 4 games under .500 at 12-16, in last place, and likely down Ian Happ (3-5 with a homer in the game) who had to be taken off the field after a nasty collision with Nico Hoerner in shallow center field. The extent of Happ's injuries have not yet been reported in detail, but it would be shocking if he were right back at it for the next game. Jake Marisnick is the most likely to see playing time in center if Happ is out, but Joc Pederson is eligible to return and the Cubs could get creative in the corner outfield spots if they want to start Heyward in CF.

The 17-12 LA Dodgers roll into Wrigley with a trio of aces ready to kick the Cubs while they are down. LA enters the series third in the NL in runs scored and first in WRC+. They're also third in the NL in ERA. Cubs fans have been hoping to see the team find their footing going back to April 17, when a 13-4 win vs. Atlanta looked like a sign of the offense breaking out. More than two weeks later, the north siders are still trying to get their legs under them, now with some of the toughest competition in the league in their way. See below for nightmare fuel the pitching matchups.