Chicago Cubs vs. Miami Marlins preview, Sunday 4/30, 11:05 a.m. CT

At the time of this preview posting, we are awaiting a potential Cubs roster move involving Caleb Kilian. If/when that happens there will be a separate post on the front page.

Sunday notes...

• THE MAN OF STEELE: Justin Steele’s streak of 12 consecutive starts while allowing no more than two runs is the third-longest in team history. Jack Taylor had 15 in a row in 1902 and Jake Arrieta had 14 in 2015-16. In his 12 games, Steele has pitched 67 innings and allowed eight earned runs, for an ERA of 1.08. He has given up 39 hits, five of them homers, while walking 23 and striking out 76.
• MORE STEELE: Steele has pitched 72 innings since he last gave up multiple runs: three, in the first inning against the Orioles on July 13 of last year. Arrieta holds the team record in that category: 103⅔ innings. He gave up two runs before he got an out in the third inning on July 30, 2015, then surrendered a two-run homer with one out in the second on April 10, 2016. Hippo Vaughn had a streak of 80⅔ innings from April 29-June 20, 1920. Jon Lester went 65 innings from August 5-October 1, 2016. (Both Steele items courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• HOME RUN STREAKING: Patrick Wisdom and Cody Bellinger went deep for the Cubs Saturday and the team has now homered in 10 consecutive games. The last time the Cubs had a longer HR streak was August 23-September 10, 2021, when they homered in 16 straight. The franchise record is 17, set in 1998.
• HE’S HOT: Yan Gomes, last 10 games since April 14: .421/.436/.763 (16-for-38) with a double, four home runs and eight runs scored.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Marlins lineup:

Justin Steele, LHP vs. Bryan Hoeing, RHP

In addition to the notes on him above, Justin Steele has a real chance of being named National League Pitcher of the Month. Currently leading the NL in ERA (1.19) and second in pitcher bWAR (1.5), Steele has made four outstanding starts.

He faced the Marlins once last year, August 5 at Wrigley Field, a weird outing in which he struck out 10, matching his career high, but didn’t finish the fifth inning (93 pitches).

He’s been better and more consistent this year. Hoping for a great ending to a great month for him.

Bryan Hoeing has made nine MLB appearances (two starts) since his debut last year and the results have not been good: 11.57 ERA, 1.959 WHIP, five home runs in 16⅓ innings. The pitch chart below is from last year, as he’s made just one appearance so far in 2023.

One of his relief appearances last year was against the Cubs, September 19 in Miami. He retired all three hitters he faced, but only one (Yan Gomes) is still with the Cubs, so that doesn’t likely have any relevance to today’s game.

Statcast

Statcast

Today’s game is on Peacock (how to watch). Peacock announcers: Chris Vosters, Tommy Hutton and Ryan Sweeney.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

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The 2023 Game Thread procedure will be like last year’s, 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.