CHC (65-56): RHP Yu Darvish (4-6, 4.43 ERA)
PHI (62-58): LHP Drew Smyly (2-6, 6.96 ERA)
First pitch 6:05pmCDT

Yu Darvish continued to get hurt by the long ball, allowing three homeruns in what seemed like it should have been a stellar start last time out. He struck out nine and walked none, but gave up three homeruns and four earned runs in Cincinnati. His strikeouts and walks have been trending in the ace direction for about two months. Citizen's Bank is not, however, a good place to hide out from the dinger. Harper is 0-2 with a walk against Darvish. Dickerson is 4-10 with a homerun, and Cesar Hernandez is 4-8 with a triple.

CHC (64-55): LHP Cole Hamels (6-3, 3.09 ERA)
PHI (61-58): RHP Aaron Nola (10-3, 3.67 ERA)
First pitch 6:05pmCDT

Hamels returns to his old stomping grounds for the first time as a visitor. He struggled in his last start, going only 3 innings and allowing five runs, four earned, in Cincinnati. Before that he was solid, and prior to that spent a month on the I.L. He got a no decision against the Phils on May 22 in his only start against his former team, allowing 3 earned runs on 9 hits in 4 innings. He's held Bryce Harper to 9-37 with one double and 8 walks. Realmuto is 4-11 with two doubles off of Hamels.

CHC (64-54): LHP Jose Quintana (10-7, 4.23 ERA)
PHI (60-58): LHP Jason Vargas (6-6, 4.09 ERA)
First pitch 6:05pmCDT

The Cubs go to Philly with the Cardinals 2 back and the Brewers trailing by 2.5. It's long past time for this team to put their road struggles behind them if they are going to be taken serious as contenders this year. Quintana is a good candidate to help them get started. He's walked fewer and given up fewer homeruns on the road, and he's pitched 17.2 more innings on the road this season than he has at Wrigley. He was great last time out, allowing one earned run and striking out seven Athletics in seven innings pitched. Happ, Bryant, and Caratini backed him with homeruns in that Cubs win to clinch the series against Oakland. He had a no decision against the Phils on May 21, having allowed two unearned runs in six innings of work. Corey Dickers is 6-14 off of him with a homerun. Joey Bats is 2-26 with 11 strikeouts.

The Cubs extended their division lead a bit by taking two out of three from the A's. They'll get four whacks at the Reds this weekend, who remain a surprisingly not terrible team. Read more for match-ups.

8/5 UPDATE: 

The Cubs have signed their fourth 2019-20 J-2 IFA: 

Dawel Rodriguez, P
R/R, 6'3 200, Age 20
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 

Unlike Altuve, Made, and Quintero, D. Rodriguez was not "Signed for Future Service," so he will likely be activated prior to the conclusion iof the DSL season. 

+++++++++++++++++++++

7/2 UPDATE: 

The Cubs have officially signed their first three 2019-20 J-2 IFA: 

Brayan Altuve, C 
R/R, 5'11 160, Age 16 
VENEZUELA 
$1M signing bonus (see NOTE below)

Kevin Made, SS 
R/R, 6'1 160, Age 16 
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC  
$1.5M signing bonus (see NOTE below)

Ronnier Quintero, C 
L/R, 6'0 175.Age 16
VENEZUELA 
$2.9M signing bonus (see NOTE below) 

All three were "Signed for Future Service" (signed 2020 contracts), so they will not be making their pro debuts until sometime next year. 

Unless and until the Cubs acquire additional ISBP via trade, they have maxed-out their 2019-20 ISBP and cannot give a signing bonus in excess of $10,000 to any J-2 IFA beyond the three already signed. 

NOTE: The three signing bonuses listed above were reported by mlb.com, but collectively the bonuses exceed the Cubs 2019-20 ISBP limit by $1,700, so they cannot be 100% accurate (one of the three had to get at least $1,700 less than the bonus reported by mlb.com for that player).  

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 

7/1 ORIGINAL POST: 


The "International Signing Period" (ISP) extends from July 2nd through June 15th of the following year. No international player can be signed during the period of time extending from June 16th through July 1st.

The Cubs are in first place after sweeping the Brewers at home and now prepare for a three-game set against the Athletics. With the Cardinals still hot on their tail, they'll need to keep up the kind of intensity they've shown over the last few days. Although they are 8.5 games back in the AL West, don't expect the A's to go down easy. They are 64-48 and playing for an AL Wild Card spot and are an all around tough opponent. See match-ups below.