Chicago Cubs vs. Baltimore Orioles preview, Tuesday 6/7, 6:05 CT

Today’s roster move came too close to posting time of this preview to post a separate article, so here it is:

There is a chance rain might interrupt this game. So, here’s the Baltimore-area radar for you to keep handy:

Tuesday notes...

• SCORING EARLY: The Cubs have scored 49 first-inning runs, most in the major leagues. Those 49 runs have come in 25 of the team’s 55 games, broken down as follows: one run (12 times), two runs (seven times), three runs (five times), eight runs (once, May 16 vs. the Pirates). When leading after the first inning, though, the Cubs are just 12-11.
• HEADING FOR A SHOWDOWN: The Cubs and Orioles rank first and second in games decided by two or fewer runs — the Cubs have 31 such games (tied with the Diamondbacks) and the O’s have 33. The Cubs’ record in those 31 games, unfortunately, is only 12-19. The O’s are 15-18.
• WALKING ON BY: The Cubs have drawn 68 walks in 16 games since May 22, and four or more in nine of their last 11 games. On the season, they are third in MLB in walks with 197 (tied with the Mariners).
• WORDS OF WISDOM: Patrick Wisdom has played in 158 games for the Cubs since his callup May 25, 2021, just about one full season’s worth of games. In that span he has hit .229/.304/.506 (120-for-524) with 25 doubles, 40 home runs, 86 runs and... 227 strikeouts. That’s a lot of K’s... but also a lot of home runs, and a good .810 OPS. All of this is worth 3.1 bWAR. That’s good enough to be a regular MLB player.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Orioles lineup:

Also of interest for tonight:

Keegan Thompson, RHP vs. Kyle Bradish, RHP

Keegan Thompson has continued his fine pitching since he was put in the rotation May 17.

In relief: eight games, 26 IP, 1.38 ERA, 0.923 WHIP
As starter: four starts, 19⅓ IP, 2.79 ERA, 1.293 WHIP

Not quite as good as a starter, but that’s still very good. Hopefully he can keep it up.

He’s obviously never faced the Orioles or anyone on their active roster except Jorge Mateo (0-for-1).

Kyle Bradish was the Angels’ fourth round pick in 2018 out of New Mexico State. The O’s acquired him in 2019 in the Dylan Bundy deal, and this is his first big league season.

It has not gone well. He’s made a couple of decent starts, but most of them have been a) bad or b) short or c) both. He’s allowed eight home runs in 33 innings and his 6.82 ERA is pretty ugly.

As is the case with Thompson, Bradish has never faced the Cubs or anyone on their active roster.

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

Please visit our SB Nation Orioles site Camden Chat. If you do go there to interact with Orioles 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 2022 Game Thread procedure will be like last years, 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.