All of the crazy things that happened in the ninth inning Saturday are summed up here.
Other notes for Sunday:
- LONG TIME COMING: Saturday’s win was the first for the Cubs when entering the ninth inning trailing since June 15, 2019, when Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth at Dodger Stadium.
- HOME AND AWAY: The Cubs are 16-12 at home and 11-8 on the road. Only three other NL teams have winning records both at home and on the road: Dodgers (15-8 at home and 17-6 on the road), Padres (16-6 and 13-11) and Braves (15-8, 12-11).
- UP THE LEADERBOARD: Craig Kimbrel picked up his second save of the season Saturday. It was the 348th of his career. He moves into 12th place in MLB history, passing former Cub Randy Myers. Next up: Troy Percival with 358.
- MORE RELIEF: The Cubs bullpen has posted a 2.05 ERA (13 earned runs in 57 innings) in the team’s last 17 games dating to August 28, holding opponents to a .181 average (36-for-199) and a .541 OPS.
Here are today’s particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Here is today's #Cubs lineup for the finale in Milwaukee. pic.twitter.com/WKuIATqho6
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 13, 2020
Brewers lineup:
This afternoon’s lineup for the finale against the Cubs at 1:10 p.m. CT.
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 13, 2020
: @FSWisconsin
: @ESPNMilwaukee#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/xUAkJZmvBI
Alec Mills, RHP vs. Adrian Houser, RHP
Alec Mills threw six shutout innings against the Reds in his last outing, September 8 at Wrigley Field. He has faced the Brewers once this year, August 14 at Wrigley Field, and actually was throwing quite well until Christian Yelich hit a three-run homer off him in the sixth. Looks like Mills just ran out of gas that night.
The bullpen should be well rested today (and there’s an off day tomorrow) in case Millsy gets in trouble early.
Adrian Houser threw five decent innings vs. the Cubs August 15 at Wrigley Field, allowing three runs. Anthony Rizzo homered off him that afternoon.
Since then his numbers have not been good: four starts, 20⅔ innings, 7.84 ERA, 1.742 WHIP. If ever there were a day the Cubs could finally have the offense break out, this looks like it.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. Here is a list of providers currently carrying Marquee. It’s also on TBS (full national broadcast, no blackouts). TBS announcers: Rich Waltz and Ron Darling.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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The 2020 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, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week/Date) game threads.” It will contain every thread related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.
You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
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.