Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers preview, Wednesday 8/30, 1:20 CT

Wednesday notes...

• THE STEELE CURTAIN: Justin Steele’s start Tuesday was only the sixth by a Cub in which he threw at least 111 pitches in six innings or fewer and did not allow a run. In his six innings, Steele gave up six hits, walked one and struck out eight.

The previous six starts, in chronological order:

Ted Lilly, 119, in 6 in 2009 (six hits, two walks, seven strikeouts)
Lilly again, 113, in 5⅔ in 2010 (five hits, three walks, eight strikeouts)
Carlos Zambrano, 116, in 6 in 2010 (six hits, five walks, eight strikeouts)
Matt Garza, 114, in 6 in 2011 (six hits, three walks, nine strikeouts)
Jake Arrieta, 112, in 6 on June 17, 2016 at home vs. Pirates (two hits, three walks, 11 strikeouts)

Cubs pitchers are known to have thrown 111 or more pitches without giving up a run in 125 starts of more than six innings. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

• ADBERT UPDATE: Adbert Alzolay converted his 18th straight save opportunity since July 5, the most in the majors during that time span. The 18-straight converted saves are the most by a Cub since Wade Davis converted a team-record 32 straight from April 4-September 19, 2017.
• MORE GOOD RELIEF: Mark Leiter Jr. recorded his team-high 25th hold of the season Tuesday evening. Leiter has a 0.95 ERA (two earned runs in 19 innings) in his last 21 games since July 17, the lowest ERA among major league relievers during that time frame (minimum 18 innings).
• HAPP-ENSTANCE: Ian Happ had two hits Tuesday and is on a seven-game hitting streak in which he is batting .321/.387/.643 (9-for-28) with three doubles, two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Brewers lineup:

Kyle Hendricks, RHP vs. Brandon Woodruff, RHP

Kyle Hendricks had one of his best starts of the year against the Brewers, July 4 in Milwaukee: six innings, four hits, one run, five strikeouts. His last two outings have also been good.

Keep up the good work, Kyle.

Brandon Woodruff allowed the Cubs one run on three hits April 1 at Wrigley Field. He made one more start, then went on the IL with a shoulder issue. He missed almost four months. Since his return, he’s thrown pretty well, although he’s allowed six home runs in 22⅔ innings, which is... a lot.

He has a 3.15 ERA against the Cubs in 17 career appearances (15 starts). Dansby Swanson is 5-for-13 (.385) against him with a home run. Ian Happ has homered three times off Woodruff in 32 career AB. Seiya Suzuki is 5-for-6 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.

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.