Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves preview, Tuesday 4/27, 6:20 CT

Tuesday notes:

• SLAM IT: Kris Bryant’s grand slam last night was the sixth of his career. He’s now tied with Javier Báez, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez for the fifth-most grand slams in franchise history. The franchise record is 12, held by Ernie Banks.
• MORE KB: Bryant, last nine games: .371/.436/.714 (13-for-35) with three doubles, three home runs, nine runs scored and 10 RBI.
• NEWS ABOUT WILLSON: Willson Contreras’ 81st career HR Monday night put him in third place all-time among Cubs catchers, passing Randy Hundley. Gabby Hartnett is the franchise leader with 231 home runs followed by Jody Davis (122).
• MORE CONTRERAS: Willson Contreras leads the majors in having been hit by 19 pitches since the start of the 2020 campaign. His five HBP this season lead the NL and are third in the majors behind Mark Canha and Nick Solak. Since the start of the 2020 season, Cubs hitters lead the majors with 70 HBP.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Braves lineup:

Trevor Williams, RHP vs. Ian Anderson, RHP

USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY NETWORK

Trevor Williams threw five solid innings (four hits, one run) against the Braves April 17 at Wrigley Field.

He actually pitched into the sixth inning, loading the bases with nobody out, but Ryan Tepera bailed him out of that jam.

I’ll take another game like that one (which the Cubs won 13-4).

Ian Anderson has made four starts this year, two of which were very good, the other two not so much.

Overall his walk rate has been a bit high this year (4.5 per nine innings) so perhaps Cubs hitters can wait him out.

Anderson has never faced the Cubs or anyone on the Cubs’ active roster. Generally that spells doom.

But maybe tonight will be different.

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.