Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers Game 1 preview, Tuesday 8/10, 1:20 CT

Today's roster move: Here

Tuesday notes...

• SITE NOTE: Here’s how the game threads will work today, a bit different than usual. For the first game, the procedure is as outlined below — game preview, first pitch thread, overflow thread. There will not be a separate recap of Game 1 (unless something extremely unusual or historic occurs). A preview of Game 2 will post at 5 p.m. CT (or a bit later if Game 1 runs long) — it will just have pitcher info and the other usual pregame links. A recap of both games will post here tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. CT. All the threads for BOTH games will reside in a single StoryStream on the front page.
• MILLSY!: Alec Mills aims to become the first Cubs right-handed pitcher to make 11 straight starts in a single season with three or fewer earned runs and two or fewer walks since Jake Arrieta closed out his 2015 season with 11 consecutive such outings. More on Mills below.
• THE GOOD AND THE BAD: In the Cubs’ 52 victories, the team has hit .261 (441-for-1,692) with 85 home runs, a .341 OBP and an .804 OPS to go along with a 2.07 team ERA (108 earned runs in 470 innings). In the team’s 61 losses, the club has batted .198 (394-for-1,986) with 56 homers, a .274 OBP and a .607 OPS along with a 6.35 team ERA (367 earned runs in 520⅓ innings).
• FUN WITH SMALL SAMPLE SIZE: Frank Schwindel is hitting .364/.391/.545 (8-for-22) in his seven games as a Cub, with a double and a home run. He’s currently riding a six-game hitting streak.

Here are the particulars for Game 1.

Cubs lineup:

Brewers lineup:

Justin Steele, LHP vs. Freddy Peralta, RHP

USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY NETWORK

Here we are, Game 114 of the 2021 Cubs season.

This will be the first game started by a lefthanded pitcher for the Cubs this year.

Justin Steele made 11 very good relief appearances for the Cubs earlier this year and then hit the IL from a baserunning injury, with a 2.03 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 13⅓ innings. Anyway, he rehabbed at Iowa, then was stretched out to start. In his last Iowa start he threw five good innings (four hits, one run, eight strikeouts) and 80 pitches, so he should be well-suited for this seven-inning affair.

Statcast

Here, I wrote all this stuff about Freddy Peralta in yesterday’s preview and it’s still valid, so you get to read it again!

Freddy Peralta is having an outstanding season, and in four starts vs. the Cubs he has a 2.14 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in 21 innings — and that was before the Cubs selloff.

In 14 starts since May 11 he has a 1.76 ERA and 0.817 WHIP and has allowed more than two runs only once.

Clearly, we are doomed.

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

Please visit our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. If you do go there to interact with Brewers fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

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.