The last time the Royals played Wrigley Field, the Cubs led the N.L. Central by three games and the winning pitcher in the game was Jason Bere. That was July 17, 2001. The teams have played only once since then, a three-game set in Kansas City in 2011; the Royals took two of three in that matchup of teams that would go on to lose 91 games each.
Times are different! The Royals were in the World Series last year and the Cubs are dancing around the edges of contention, playing good baseball most of the time. This should be a good matchup between teams with a lot of talent.
I'm expecting thousands of Royals fans to descend on Wrigley Field this weekend, given that their team is good and they haven't played at Wrigley in 14 years. They should bring rain gear, and so should you if you're going.
Finally, here is your once-a-series reminder about SB Nation's partner daily fantasy game, FanDuel. If you want to participate, here's the link.
Here are today's particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Fowler CF, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Montero C, Soler RF, Lake LF, Arrieta P, Russell 2B
It's Friday and @JArrieta34 is on the bump. #LetsGo Game preview: http://t.co/af4S8MAhU8 pic.twitter.com/pI9NU2BRm0
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 29, 2015
Royals lineup:
Escobar SS, Moustakas 3B, Cain CF, Hosmer 1B, Perez C, Gordon LF, Infante 2B, Orlando RF, Volquez P
Today's Starting Pitchers |
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Jake Arrieta hasn't faced the Royals since 2011, so his previous outings are largely irrelevant to today's game. Current members of the team are a small-sample-size 11-for-33 against him. More important is his excellent record so far this season, with 62 strikeouts and only 14 walks in 58 innings, and just three home runs allowed. FWIW, Arrieta has pitched better at home than on the road, with a 2.41 ERA and 0.98 WHIP at Wrigley (five starts), compared to 3.70 and 1.233 on the road (four starts).
Edinson Volquez! Seems like we just saw you. In fact, Volquez was very good against the Cubs last year, posting an 0.56 ERA and 1.188 WHIP in three appearances (two starts). Current Cubs are 29-for-99 (.293) against him with three home runs (Starlin Castro, Dexter Fowler and, of all people, Mike Baxter). Volquez has a 3.63 ERA in four career starts at Wrigley Field.
Today's game is on CSN Chicago.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Royals site Royals Review.
The 2015 Game Thread procedure has changed a bit. Here's how it will work going forward.
You'll find the game preview posted separately on the front page, two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream™ containing the preview will also post on the front page. The First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads will be published in that stream, as well as the recap. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post, and at the time I write the recap I will rename the stream "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.
You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread, all the overflow threads and recap in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in the game's StoryStream™ as noted above.
The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at one hour, two hours and 2:45 after the scheduled game time.
Discuss amongst yourselves.