Chicago Cubs vs. Baltimore Orioles preview, Wednesday 6/8, 6:05 CT

Wednesday notes...

Today, we will look at some Cubs hitters who are hot. Because why not?

• RAFAEL ORTEGA: Last 14 games since May 23: .381/.460/.500 (16-for-42), two doubles, a home run, seven walks.
• FRANK SCHWINDEL: Last 28 games since his almost-demotion to Iowa: .271/.322/.505 (29-for-107), seven doubles, six home runs, 14 runs scored.
• WILLSON CONTRERAS: Last 12 games since May 26: .333/.464/.733 (15-for-45), three doubles, five home runs, eight walks, 11 runs scored.
• CHRISTOPHER MOREL: Last eight games since May 31: .314/.375/.600 (11-for-35), three doubles, two triples, a home run, eight runs scored.
• P.J. HIGGINS: Last seven games since May 30: .381/.435/.714 (8-for-21), a double, two home runs.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Orioles lineup:

Marcus Stroman, RHP vs. Jordan Lyles, RHP

Marcus Stroman... man, I dunno. Sometimes he looks unhittable. He has three starts this year in which he’s allowed one or no runs and in those three (19 total innings) he has a WHIP of 0.632.

He’s had four “meh” starts and three others which can accurately be described as horrific. In those three, he has a WHIP of 2.270 and has allowed five home runs in 12⅓ innings.

So, which is the real Stroman? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Unlike many Cubs pitchers, Stroman has faced Baltimore a lot in his time with the Blue Jays and Mets. The last time he faced them was May 11, 2021, and he allowed one run in 6⅓ innings. I’d take another one like that.

Jordan Lyles! Hi there! The Cubs faced him a lot when he was in the NL. In fact, he made his MLB debut at Wrigley Field May 31, 2011, when he was with Houston... when the Astros were still a NL team. At the time he was a Top 50 MLB prospect.

Since then? Rockies, Padres, Brewers, Pirates, Brewers again, Rangers and Orioles. He has 15 career appearances vs. the Cubs (nine starts) with a 5.68 ERA. He hasn’t faced the Cubs since 2019, though, and among current Cubs only Jason Heyward (4-for-8, a home run) and Willson Contreras (4-for-7, two home runs) have more than a handful of at-bats against him.

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.