Chicago Cubs vs. Colorado Rockies Preview, Monday 5/8, 7:40 CT

You will need this tonight:

That's because of this weather forecast:

Tonight: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 7pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 7pm and midnight, then a slight chance of showers after midnight. Some storms could be severe, with large hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. North wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

I'll keep an eye out for any possible delay or postponement and update as necessary.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Schwarber LF, Bryant RF, Rizzo 1B, Zobrist 2B, Montero C, La Stella 3B, Baez SS, Arrieta P, Almora CF

Here is tonight's #Cubs lineup for the opener in Colorado.

Game preview: https://t.co/ea5vFRMi8a pic.twitter.com/XBB3P10981

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 8, 2017

Rockies lineup:

Blackmon CF, LeMahieu 2B, Arenado 3B, Gonzalez RF, Reynolds 1B, Parra LF, Story SS, Hanigan C, Senzatela P

Jake Arrieta vs. Antonio Senzatela

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Let's face it, Jake Arrieta is not having a good year so far, although his last outing against the Phillies was at least decent. He has one career start in Coors Field (August 6, 2014) and it was not a good one. Current Rockies, though, are hitting .228 against him (18-for-79). Keep the ball down tonight, Jake.

Antonio Senzatela, just 22 years old, is making his seventh big-league start. He's done well so far, with a 2.84 ERA and just four HR allowed in 38 innings. He's even done pretty well at hitter-friendly Coors (3.15 ERA in three starts there, but with three of the four homers).

He's obviously never faced the Cubs or anyone on the current roster. He's thrown well at every level of the Rockies' minor-league system, so he should not be underestimated.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Rockies site Purple Row. If you do go there to interact with Rockies fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

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.

Get tickets to Cubs games from our partner Stubhub here.

Discuss amongst yourselves.