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Cubs @ Rockies: Series Thread (Games 108-110)
The depleted Chicago Cubs continue their season with a three-game series in Colorado. Can hot-hitting Raphael Ortega give the the B-squad the spark needed to take defeat the Rockies? See below for the mid-week pitching matchups.
Game 108, Tuesday, August 3, 7:40 pm central
CHC: RHP Zach Davies (6-7, 4.39 ERA)
COL: LHP Kyle Freeland (1-6, 4.52 ERA)
What's less exciting than watching your franchise trade a Cy Young runner up for a junkballer with one remaining year of control? Might it be watching your franchise fail to turn him around in useful trade at the deadline? Possibly it is getting ready to watch that junkballer pitch in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in baseball history.
Kyle Freeland has had a series of disappointing seasons following his breakout 2018, when he pitched over 200 innings and kept his ERA under three despite calling Colorado his home. It is an unfortunately familiar tale for breakout starting pitchers on the Rockies. He's pitched into some hard luck lately, going six and seven innings and allowing one run each while losing both of his last starts.
Game 109, Wednesday, August 4, 7:40 pm central
CHC: RHP Alec Mills (4-4, 4.55 ERA)
COL: RHP Jon Gray (7-6, 3.62 ERA)
Like most of his starts this year, Alec Mill's last start was okay. He went six innings while allowing four runs, three earned, and losing to the Reds. He's never faced the Rockies or pitched in Colorado, so this should be a new and fun experience.
Jon Gray was taken on spot after Kris Bryant in the MLB draft but remains a member of the 4th place Rockies by virtue of having one year of club control remaining. His peripherals don't pop quite as much as they might in other years, but he's still the ace of the staff and is putting up pretty good overall numbers. Most recently he earned a victory in San Diego, going 6.1 and allowing two earned runs.
Game 110, Thursday, August 5, 2:10 pm central
CHC: RHP Jake Arrieta (5-10, 6.20 ERA)
COL: TBD
How long Jake Arrieta remains in the Cubs' rotation probably depends on two things. First, whether he starts hitting his spots with his fastball. Second, how long it takes Keegan Thompson and Justin Steele to get stretched out in the minors. Arrieta gave four innings in his return from his IL break, and he took a loss despite allowing only two earned runs in that time. He and the team have provided no clear narrative explaining his lack of success--or pointing toward a possible solution--and it's becoming difficult to imagine his Cubs' career ending anywhere but a release. That said, a two month hot/warm streak would be a welcome consolation and a decent epilogue to Arrieta's time with the Cubs.
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