A note about the Cubs and home runs: if any Cubs player hits a home run in tonight's game, that will make 12 consecutive road games in which a Cub has homered. That would be the longest such road streak since May 8-June 3, 2001, and match other 12-game road homer streaks in 1963 and 1987. The franchise record for such things is 14, set June 11-July 24, 1955.
More homer notes: Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are 1-2 in the National League in homers with 25 and 24, respectively. The last time a Cubs team had two players with 30 or more homers in a season was 2005 (Derrek Lee, 46; Aramis Ramirez, 31).
Here are today's particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Fowler CF, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Zobrist LF, Contreras C, Heyward RF, Russell SS, Baez 2B, Lackey P
Here is tonight's #Cubs lineup against the #Brewers.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 23, 2016
Game preview: https://t.co/WIdxdNTwx0 #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/BgSO4IVbxx
Brewers lineup:
Villar SS, Gennett 2B, Braun LF, Lucroy C, Carter 1B, Nieuwenhuis CF, Perez 3B, Flores RF, Davies P
John Lackey
vs
Zach Davies
John Lackey's last start, against the Rangers, wasn't great, but it was a bit better than the few previous to that. Hopefully the off day, giving him extra rest, will help. His one start against the Brewers this year, May 18 at Miller Park, was very good: six innings, four hits, one run. The Cubs eventually won that game in extras.
Zach Davies has had a pretty good year for the Brewers with solid numbers in most categories. He doesn't walk many (just 11 in his last 68⅓ innings) so the Cubs might have to be aggressive hitters tonight. He has one career start against the Cubs, September 23, 2015 at Wrigley Field. He threw six shutout innings and allowed just two hits.
And if he didn't have that little bit of fuzz on his chin, you'd think, from that photo, that he was about 15 years old.
Today's game is on WGN. For affiliate info in the Illinois/Iowa/Indiana blackout markets, click here.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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The 2016 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used at the end of 2015. Here's how it works.
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.