Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers preview, Friday 5/10, 1:20 CT

Notes for the first Brewers trip to Wrigley Field this year:

• Christian Yelich, the reigning N.L. MVP, did not do well at all against Cubs pitching last year. In 2018, Yelich hit just .213/.279/.246 (13-for-61) with no home runs. He hit at least five home runs against all the other N.L. Central teams. And at Wrigley, he was even worse: .205/.273/.205 (8-for-39). In the series at Miller Park earlier this year, though, he was 4-for-12 (.333) with a home run.
• The Cubs have hit at least one home run in in 15 consecutive games. That streak is the longest by a N.L. team this year and is the Cubs’ longest in 17 years (July 21-August 6, 2002). The Cubs lead the N.L. with 30 homers during this stretch and overall rank tied for fourth in the league with 56 home runs. After 35 games in 2018, they had just 42 home runs.
• Meanwhile, after that horrific start in the 2-7 season-beginning road trip, Cubs pitching now ranks second in the N.L. in fewest runs allowed and ERA+.
• The Cubs are also second in the league in runs and lead the N.L. in OBP, SLG and OPS.
• Anthony Rizzo, last 11 games: .378/.442/.867 (17-for-45), four doubles, six home runs, 17 RBI.
• Kris Bryant, last seven games: .364/.548/1.064 (8-for-22), a double, a triple, four home runs, nine walks.
• Javier Baez, last eight games: .387/.412/.742 (12-for-31), five doubles, two home runs, eight runs scored.

Let’s keep that offensive onslaught going!

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Brewers lineup:

Jose Quintana, LHP vs. Gio Gonzalez, LHP

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Jose Quintana has, historically, been very good against the Brewers.

So let’s try our best to ignore the eight-run beating he took in Milwaukee April 5, shall we?

Even with that, he still has a career 2.51 ERA in 12 career starts against the Brewers, and last year in seven (!) starts against them he posted a 2.13 ERA and 0.921 WHIP. Plus, since that beatdown at Miller Park, Jose has posted a 1.93 ERA and 0.980 WHIP in five starts. So he appears to be on the right track. He’s also got a 1.80 ERA in three starts (20 innings) at Wrigley this year, with no home runs allowed.

Gio Gonzalez was signed by the Brewers just two weeks ago and put directly into their rotation. He’s made two starts for them, both against the Mets, both decent.

He did not face the Cubs at all last year, so it’s been almost two years since his last outing against them, June 26, 2017 while he was with the Nationals. That was a good start, but the Cubs have hit him in the past. In four starts at Wrigley Field he has a 6.33 ERA, although current Cubs are hitting just .170 (15-for-88) against him.

So, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Today’s game is on NBC Sports Chicago. It’s also on MLB Network (outside the Chicago and Milwaukee market territories). If you have “cut the cord,” NBC Sports Chicago games can be streamed in the Cubs’ market territory via Fubo. Sign up for Fubo here. This game is also being carried by streaming service ESPN+ — sign up for ESPN+ here. ESPN+ games are blacked out in the participating teams’ home markets.

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 Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. If you do go there to interact with Brewers 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 2019 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used in previous years. 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.