Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers preview, Thursday 7/6, 1:10 CT

MILWAUKEE — Thursday notes...

• WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: Wednesday night’s ninth-inning rally gave the Cubs back-to-back wins by one run for just the second time this season. They beat the Rays at home, 1-0 and 2-1, on May 29-30. They broke a tie at 1 in the sixth inning of the second game on a two-out, first-pitch RBI single by Mike Tauchman. A 4-3 loss to the Rays the next day is their only defeat during their current run of one-run success. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• MORE ON ONE-RUN AFFAIRS: The Cubs have won their last five games decided by 1 run, improving their season record in those games to 9-11. They alternated losses and wins in their first four one-run decisions, then lost eight in a row between April 15 and May 21. Starting May 29, then won two and lost one before starting their five-game streak. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• THE WALK WATCH: Cubs hitters have had at least one walk in each of the team’s last 61 games since April 28. The last longer Cubs walk streak was a 106-game run from July 22, 2019-September 8, 2020.
• HE’S HOT: Cody Bellinger’s two hits Wednesday gave him an 11-game hitting streak, just one game short of his career high set in 2019. In those 11 games he is batting .415/.432/.463 (17-for-41) with two doubles and only four strikeouts. He hasn’t homered since April 30 (125 plate appearances), but I feel like those are coming soon.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Brewers lineup:

Marcus Stroman, RHP vs. Freddy Peralta, RHP

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Stroman’s last start, last Saturday vs. the Guardians. wasn’t as bad as his line (5⅔ innings, five runs) looked. A couple of key outs and it would have been much better.

He threw six shutout innings against the Brewers on Opening Day, March 30. Another one of those this afternoon would be most welcome.

Freddy Peralta is having a rough year, as his ERA hasn’t been under 4.00 since mid-May. Last nine starts: 5.87 ERA, 1.391 WHIP, 11 home runs in 46 innings.

In his last start against the Cubs, August 26, 2022 in Milwaukee, he threw six no-hit innings. That was during one of the Cubs’ worst stretches of the season.

Again, Tucker Barnhart is a top hitter vs. Peralta: 5-for-17 (.294) with two doubles and a home run.

Statcast

Statcast

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. You can find out if Marquee is available via a provider in your area here. It’s also on MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Brewers market territories).

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 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.