There’s rain in the forecast again tonight, so keep this handy:
Oh, and there’s this, regarding which uniform the team wears on the road:
Blue alt: 3-7
Road gray: 6-2
#WearTheGray
Notes for today:
- Ben Zobrist’s game-winning hit was his second in the ninth inning or later this season. Zobrist hit a tie-breaking single in the 10th inning of the 10-6 win at Miami March 31. He has 10 career go-ahead RBI in the ninth inning or later. (Not even including the one in Game 7!)
- Tuesday night was the Cubs’ second road victory this season when trailing entering the ninth inning. April 7 in Milwaukee, the Cubs were down 2-1 before scoring four ninth-inning runs en route to a 5-2 win.
- The Tuesday night win was also the Cubs’ seventh when scoring three or fewer runs this season. That’s tied for third-most in the majors with the Diamondbacks and Athletics. The Rockies (nine) and Nationals (eight) have more.
- The Cubs are looking to win their first five games at a major league park for the first time since 1977, when the team started out 6-0 at the Montreal Expos’ Olympic Stadium. All told, the Cubs have won their first five games at two home parks (West Side Park in 1885 and Weeghman Park in 1916) and nine away parks, with Olympic Stadium being the only one since 1900. (H/T: Ed Hartig)
Here are today’s particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Here is tonight's #Cubs lineup in Atlanta. #EverybodyIn
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 16, 2018
Game preview: https://t.co/6sEpCfn2kA pic.twitter.com/QiwDryNK8T
Braves lineup:
Here's how the #Braves will line up tonight at @SunTrustPark. #ChopOn
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 16, 2018
Game Preview: https://t.co/XibXWC9Fle pic.twitter.com/cR5wsHbQkC
Tyler Chatwood, RHP vs. Brandon McCarthy, RHP
I’m tired of talking about all the walks Tyler Chatwood has allowed. You’re probably tired of hearing about it. We all know he has to cut down on those.
Chatwood’s last appearance against the Braves was two innings of scoreless relief (with no walks!) last August 25. So that’s good. This isn’t: Freddie Freeman, the only current Brave with more than eight career at-bats vs. Chatwood, is 7-for-13 against him. Stop Freeman and Chatwood’s probably stopped the Braves.
Brandon McCarthy came to the Braves in the wacky salary-dump deal that got Matt Kemp out of Atlanta. Kemp is actually having a pretty good year for the Dodgers. McCarthy in 2018? Not so much. He had six reasonably good starts in April, but this month? Two starts, 15.12 ERA, 3.120 (!) WHIP, three home runs in 8⅓ innings. That’s ... awful.
This isn’t: McCarthy pitched twice against the Cubs last year and threw 12 shutout innings.
Let’s hope the McCarthy we see tonight is the one from this month, not the one from last year.
Today’s game is on WGN.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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The 2018 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used during 2017. 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.