Chicago Cubs vs. Miami Marlins preview, Saturday 8/6, 1:20 CT

Saturday notes...

• HE’S HOT: Willson Contreras, since his non-trade: .286/.412/.929 (4-for-14), a double, a triple, two home runs, only two strikeouts.
• HE’S NOT: Christopher Morel, last eight games since July 25: 0-for-23, seven strikeouts.
• HE’S HOT: Justin Steele, last 10 starts since June 5: 2.43 ERA, 1.294 WHIP, season ERA lowered from 5.40 to 3.67.
• HE’S NOT: Frank Schwindel, 10 games since returning from the injured list July 16: .211/.268/.237 (8-for-38), one double, seven strikeouts.
• HE’S HOT: Yan Gomes, last seven games since July 16: .364/.440/.682 (8-for-22), a double, two home runs, four runs scored.
• HE’S NOT: Ian Happ, last 16 games since July 14: .246/.258/.292 (16-for-65), 23 strikeouts.
• HE’S HOT: Rowan Wick, last eight games since July 10: nine innings, 0.00 ERA, 1.222 WHIP, nine strikeouts.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

The Marlins lineup was not available at posting time. Please check the BCB Twitter feed for the Marlins lineup.

Drew Smyly, LHP vs. Pablo Lopez, RHP

USA TODAY NETWORK

USA TODAY NETWORK

Drew Smyly has had a rough time since returning from an oblique injury, posting a 6.06 ERA and 1.531 WHIP in four July starts.

He posted a 1.69 ERA and 1.125 WHIP in two starts against the Marlins last year, and ... well, that’s about all I’ve got. Good luck today, Drew.

Pablo Lopez is one of the better pitchers in MLB that you’ve never heard of. He has made 83 starts for the Marlins over the last five seasons and posted a 3.87 ERA and 1.177 WHIP, and he’s been just a bit better than that this year.

Lopez threw seven one-hit innings against the Cubs June 19, 2021 in Wrigley Field, striking out seven. Of the 16 Cubs who played in that game, only three (Ian Happ, Patrick Wisdom and Rafael Ortega) are still on the team’s active roster.

So, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. He does have a 7.36 ERA over his last three starts.

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 Marlins site Fish Stripes. If you do go there to interact with Marlins 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.