Thursday notes:
- At 15-11 at home and 14-12 on the road, the Cubs are one of four N.L. teams to have winning records both home and away. The others are the Braves, Brewers and Cardinals.
- Albert Almora Jr. has hit safely in each of his last 10 games against the Mets dating to June 30, 2016. He’s hitting .556 (15-for-27) in those games with three doubles, a triple, a homer and nine RBI. (Of course, he’s not starting tonight.)
- Notable Cubs performances in May include Albert Almora Jr. (.342 AVG, .388 OBP), Kris Bryant (.528 SLG, six HR), Anthony Rizzo (.309 AVG, 1.013 OPS, 28 RBI) and Ian Happ (.421 OBP, 1.042 OPS, five HR).
- The Cubs lead the National League with a run differential of +78, ahead of Atlanta’s +56. Also, the Cubs’272 runs scored are second in the N.L., trailing only the Braves (278), while their 194 runs allowed are second-fewest in the National League, trailing only the Nationals (189).
Here are today’s particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Here is tonight's #Cubs lineup against the Mets. #EverybodyIn
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 31, 2018
Stream on @YouTubeTV: https://t.co/t4XvcdoeJc pic.twitter.com/mVeo82IKqo
Mets lineup:
Here’s our lineup for the series opener. #LGM pic.twitter.com/ejAIXuYju1
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 31, 2018
Jose Quintana, LHP vs. Seth Lugo, RHP
The less said about Jose Quintana’s last start, the better.
His last start against the Mets? Now, that’s a good topic for discussion. It happened September 12, 2017 at Wrigley Field and he threw seven solid innings, allowing six hits and two runs. He also threw well in his other career start vs. the Mets, May 30, 2016 while he was with the White Sox, seven innings, one run. That game was at Citi Field.
The Cubs could use another one just like those two.
Seth Lugo has been forced into the Mets rotation due to multiple injuries after 20 relief appearances. This is his first start of the season.
He started against the Cubs last year, September 14, 2017 at Wrigley Field and the Cubs just pounded him — nine hits and eight runs in three innings, including a home run by Anthony Rizzo.
He did throw four scoreless relief innings against the Cubs in 2016, two at Citi Field, two at Wrigley, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Today’s game is on NBC Sports Chicago.
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.