Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets preview, Thursday 4/22, 6:40 CT

Thursday notes:

• JAVY! JAVY! Javier Báez’s sixth‐inning grand slam Wednesday evening was the sixth slam of his career (last: June 29, 2019 vs. Cincinnati).
• DARE WE MENTION? The Cubs swept the Mets in the last three‐game set the clubs played against each other (August 27‐29, 2019 at Citi Field). The Cubs’ last series sweep vs. the Mets at Wrigley Field was Sept. 12‐14, 2017.
• BASE THEFT: The Cubs rank seventh in the majors with 11 stolen bases, and reached 11 steals in their 17th game of the season. Last year, they had only five steals through 17 team games and did not steal their 11th base until game No. 34.
• HE ALWAYS DOES THIS: Anthony Rizzo is on one of his patented hot streaks. Over his last seven games: .435/.567/.826 (10-for-23) with a double, a triple and two home runs. His OPS has gone from .460 to .845 in that span.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Mets lineup:

Trevor Williams, RHP vs. Joey Lucchesi, LHP

USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY NETWORK

Trevor Williams has made three starts this year. Two were very good, the third not so much.

The last time he faced the Mets was in 2019, when he made two good starts against them for a total of 13 innings, with a 3.46 ERA and 1.077 WHIP. Current members of the Mets are hitting a small sample size .304 (17-for-56) against him with three home runs.

I have liked what I’ve seen from Williams so far this year. The one bad start might have been him being a bit over-amped to start in his old home park. I expect good things tonight.

The Cubs caught a break tonight when Jacob deGrom’s start was pushed back to Friday. Instead, lefthander Joey Lucchesi will start. The Cubs are 4-0 vs. LH starters so far this year, and as a team, the Cubs have an OPS more than 100 points higher vs. LHP (.768) than RHP (.646). Against LH starters it’s even better: .904 OPS, vs. a .602 OPS vs. RH starters. They’re going with the same lineup tonight that pounded the Mets for 16 runs last night.

Lucchesi has pitched in two games this year, one as a starter, one in relief, for a total of five innings. His last start against the Cubs was July 20, 2019 at Wrigley Field and he got hit hard: 10 hits and six runs in 4⅓ innings, including a three-run homer by Javier Baez. Javy, in fact, is 5-for-6 lifetime off Lucchesi with two home runs.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. Here’s a list of providers currently carrying Marquee.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

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The 2021 Game Thread procedure will be a bit different than previous years. It will be similar to what we’ve used for Spring Training.

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 post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, 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 the overflow thread 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 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.