Chicago Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks preview, Friday 9/8, 1:20 CT

Today's roster move: Here

Friday notes...

• PATTERNS OF WINNING AND LOSING: The Cubs are 34-18 since the break for the All-Star Game, but they are just 7-10 in first games of series, including 1-8 in first games at home. But they are 9-0 in second games at home since the break. They have not lost back-to-back games at home to the same opponent since July 1-2 vs. the Guardians. This afternoon’s game will be their 30th at home since then. The Cubs lost two games to the Red Sox in their first series at home after the break, the first and third of the series, July 14 and 16. They have not lost two games in any of their eight home series since then. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• HITTING STREAK, PART 1: Seiya Suzuki, eight-game hitting streak: .424/.457/.909 (14-for-33) with five doubles, a triple, three home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs scored.
• HITTING STREAK, PART 2: Cody Bellinger, nine-game hitting streak: .351/.375/.703 (13-for-37) with a double, four home runs, 10 RBI and eight runs scored.
• ROSTER NOTES: On Wednesday, Alexander Canario and Luke Little became the fifth and sixth Cubs players to make their major league debuts this season (also Miguel Amaya, Matt Mervis, Daniel Palencia and Jordan Wicks). The Cubs have used 46 players this season after using 69 in 2021 (setting a MLB record) and 64 in 2022.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Diamondbacks lineup:

Jameson Taillon, RHP vs. Zac Gallen, RHP

Here’s the thing about Jameson Taillon. Apart from a couple of blowouts, his starts aren’t terrible. Six innings, four runs. Six innings, five runs. They just aren’t... good. They’re what you’d expect from a fifth starter inning eater type, but that’s not why Taillon was signed to a four-year, $68 million deal.

He’ll need a reset over the winter. In the interim, here’s hoping he can at least keep the Cubs in this game.

He hasn’t faced the D-backs since 2019 and so the current Arizona hitters who have faced him have mostly done so with other teams. Tommy Pham is 8-for-20 with four doubles.

This game is a mismatch on paper as Zac Gallen has been one of the best pitchers in the league for the last two years.

His numbers have ticked up, ever so slightly — post-All-Star break, he’s got a 4.33 ERA and 1.243 WHIP, with 11 home runs allowed in 60⅓ innings, and his last two starts have been pretty bad (11 earned runs and four home runs allowed in 10⅔ innings). Perhaps the Cubs are getting him at the right time.

Gallen faced the Cubs twice last year and allowed two total runs in 11 innings, with 13 strikeouts, but those were both in May when the Cubs were... bad.

Current Cubs are 6-for-50 (.120) against Gallen with one home run (Yan Gomes).

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 Diamondbacks market territories).

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Diamondbacks site AZ Snakepit. If you do go there to interact with D-backs 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 — also see the note at the top of this preview.

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.