Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies preview, Monday 7/5, 7:05 CT

Today's roster move: Here

Monday notes:

• HITS, AT LAST: The Cubs had 11 hits Sunday, breaking a streak of 20 straight games in which they had no more than eight. That was the longest such streak by any team since 1972. The Cubs went 6-14 in those 20 games.
• STILL SOME RELIEF: Despite the Cubs’ recent bullpen struggles, collectively they still rank second in MLB with a 3.11 ERA. The Padres are first at 2.85, the Giants third at 3.20.
• HERE’S THE SCORE: The Cubs have outscored their opponents at home 186-139 en route to a 26-13 home W/L record. Away from Wrigley, they have been outscored 213-161. Overall, they have been outscored 60-46 in the first inning, then outscored their opponents 301-292 in all other innings.
• ROBINSON CHIRINOS WILL BE BETTER THAN THIS: The five men who have been Willson Contreras’ backups this year have hit a combined 5-for-71 (.070) with one extra-base hit (a double by Austin Romine), nine walks and 31 strikeouts.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Phillies lineup:

Zach Davies, RHP vs. Matt Moore, LHP

USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY NETWORK

Zach Davies followed up his role in the Cubs’ combined no-hitter with... well, I dunno. He allowed only two hits and two runs to the Brewers, but completed just four innings and threw 84 pitches. That’s really not optimal. Still, since May 1 Davies has a 2.80 ERA and 1.197 WHIP in 12 starts, with only three home runs allowed in 64⅓ innings.

The last time he faced the Phillies was May 16, 2019; he allowed three runs (one earned) in six innings. That’s good but largely irrelevant, as many of those Phillies aren’t on the team anymore. Andrew McCutchen has been the toughest of these Phillies on Davies: 5-for-14 (.357) with a home run.

Remember Matt Moore? He’s the guy who stymied the Cubs for eight innings in Game 4 of the division series vs. the Giants in 2016, before the Cubs exploded in the ninth. Remember when the Cubs could hit and score runs like that?

Now, Moore appears near the end of the line. He pitched in Japan in 2020 and has made 10 appearances (four starts) for the Phillies, with not-great results.

Even with the Cubs’ poor play lately they are 13-10 vs. LH starters this year. No current Cub has more than eight career AB vs. Moore, but Anthony Rizzo — who has hit lefthanders well in 2021 — is 5-for-6 with two home runs.

Statcast

Statcast

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.