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I don't think I need to hype this game more than it already has been, so let's get right to today's particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Schwarber LF, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Zobrist RF, Russell SS, Contreras C, Heyward CF, Baez 2B, Lester P
The Dodgers lineup was not available at posting time.
Jon Lester vs. Alex Wood
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Jon Lester had a solid first outing eight days ago against the Cardinals, striking out seven in five innings and allowing just one run. The last time he faced the Dodgers was Game 5 of the NLCS, when they said they were going to try to distract him by jumping around on the basepaths. You saw how well that worked. Lester gave up just two runs in 13 innings in two NLCS starts last year, and also allowed just one run to the Dodgers in 15 regular-season innings in 2016.
Alex Wood has one relief appearance this year (two innings, no runs allowed) and wasn't supposed to make this start. He's doing that because Rich Hill is on the DL with blister issues again. Wood also had a two-inning scoreless relief stint against the Cubs in the NLCS, and in the 2016 regular season made one start vs. the Cubs, May 30 at Wrigley Field, after which he spent three months on the DL with elbow issues.
Today's game is on ESPN.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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The 2017 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used during 2016. 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.
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Discuss amongst yourselves.