Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets preview, Thursday 6/17, 6:10 CT

Today’s roster move: Here

Thursday notes...

• REMEMBER THIS? Today, the Cubs aim to avoid their first four-game sweep at the hands of the Mets in New York since June 30-July 3, 2016. Something pretty good happened later that year for the Cubs.
• NOBODY’S HITTING THIS SERIES, BUT OH, THOSE WALKS: Cubs pitching has limited the Mets to a .212 BA (18-for-85) in the first three games of this series, but has surrendered 20 walks with 21 strikeouts. Meanwhile, Cubs hitters have batted .141 (13-for-92) with six walks and 40 strikeouts in the three games.
• RIZZO NOTES: Anthony Rizzo leads all MLB left-handed hitters with a .357 average (20-for-56) against left-handed pitching this season. Also, his .886 OPS against southpaws ranks sixth in the majors among all lefty hitters. However, he is hitting just .225 (36-for-160) with eight homers and a .782 OPS against righthanders.
• HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Andrew Chafin turns 31 today. He has thrown 13⅓ shutout innings in his last 14 outings since May 8, and in his last 20 games since April 26 has produced a 0.47 ERA (1 ER/19.1 IP) with six walks, 15 strikeouts, a .143 average against (9-for-63) and a .392 opponent OPS.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Mets lineup:

Kyle Hendricks, RHP vs. Marcus Stroman, RHP

USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY NETWORK

Kyle Hendricks since May 1: eight starts, 3.12 ERA, 1.173 WHIP, seven walks in 52 innings. These numbers are very, very close to his career norms, so I think we can say Kyle’s back to doing what he usually does.

He did not face the Mets in the Wrigley series in April. The last time he did face the Mets, August 28, 2019 at Citi Field, things did not go well. Don’t click on that link, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Hopefully, it goes better for Kyle tonight.

Marcus Stroman has been very good most of this year, but especially in his last four starts: 1.44 ERA, 1.080 WHIP.

He didn’t face the Cubs in the series at Wrigley in April. The last time he faced them, August 27, 2019 at Citi Field, the Cubs hit him pretty well — four runs in six innings. Javy Báez went 3-for-3 in that game including a home run off Stroman.

Stroman is good, but I think the Cubs can hit him.

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.