Saturday's loss clinched the season series between the Cubs and Diamondbacks in Arizona's favor, as the Cubs are now 2-4 against the D'backs for the year, with today's game completing the season series.
Among N.L. teams, after today the Cubs will be finished with the Diamondbacks, Braves, Phillies, Marlins and Nationals, and after the upcoming series at home against San Diego, will have completed their 2014 schedule against the Padres -- and won't have played the Rockies at all. That won't happen for another week. Thanks, schedule-makers.
It doesn't seem to matter how good or bad the Cubs or D'backs are -- the Cubs rarely win season series from them. The Cubs have won a season series from Arizona just five times in the 17 seasons the D'backs have been in the league (1998, 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2011), and overall are 55-69 against them.
Perhaps the Cubs can salvage a consolation win this afternoon.
Cubs lineup:
Coghlan LF, Alcantara 2B, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Sweeney CF, Schierholtz RF, Baker C, Arrieta P
Diamondbacks lineup:
Inciarte CF, Peralta LF, Goldschmidt 1B, Montero C, Hill 2B, Parra RF, Prado 3B, Gregorius SS, Collmenter P
Today's Starting Pitchers |
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Jake Arrieta, who has been a revelation this year, has never faced the Diamondbacks. Current members of the D'backs roster are 7-for-26 against him, so that's no clue, really. Arrieta has gone at least seven innings in five of his last six starts and has a 1.49 ERA, just nine walks and 50 strikeouts over that span covering 42⅓ innings.
Keep up the good work, is all I can say.
Josh Collmenter has been in and out of the D'backs rotation this year. He has not faced the Cubs as a starter since 2012, and most of those guys aren't on the Cubs anymore. Current Cubs are a small-sample-size 6-for-37 against Collmenter, who threw very well in his last start before the All-Star break, 11 days ago against the Marlins (seven innings, one run, one walk, six strikeouts).
In short, who knows?
I will say I think Arrieta wins the battle of the beards with Collmenter.
Today's game is on WGN.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Diamondbacks site AZ Snakepit.
For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.
You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.
In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.
You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads 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 this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.
Discuss amongst yourselves.