Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Brewers Sunday game threadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2019-08-05T10:00:00-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/205147872019-08-05T10:00:00-05:002019-08-05T10:00:00-05:002019 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 111
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<p>Cubs complete three game sweep of Brewers with 7-2 win</p> <p id="5QMKsF">This Cubs team is so much like two different teams, it makes my head spin at times. I’ve never seen anything like this team. The unbeatable juggernaut at home and the feeble team on the road. This weekend was so enjoyable. For all of the ups and downs that these last few years and in particular this year, this was a reminder of what this team is capable of. Each of the three games featured one hitter really leading the way and one starter really shutting down the other team. The bullpen closed things out without a lot of hassle over the three days and a number of hitters made contributions. </p>
<p id="kyBNe5">I’m still nervous about this ballclub. Not even having the cockiness that I had all of the way up until the final week of last season that this team would just go on and win the division and then we’d see what would happen afterwards. I just can’t be that way with the road woes. But after three games like this, I just have to put that away for the time being. As I’ve said in the past, your mileage may vary, but I for one am completely capable of knowing that even a weekend like this doesn’t mean that everything is fixed while also acknowledging that this team is capable of beating any team when it is playing right. </p>
<p id="8kgVdU">Quite the conundrum this team is. But, here we are on the morning of August 5 and the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> are in first place (1½ games ahead of the <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> and four ahead of the <a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a>). The three teams have between 49 and 52 games left. Things are slowly creeping towards the wire. All things being equal, warts and all, certainly have to be happy to be standing alone on top. If you are more exuberant than me and want to get caught up in the momentum, this team is only four games in the loss column behind the <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves</a> for the second-best record in the league. </p>
<p id="mGSpF8">With that, we turn our attention to yesterday’s game as we look at what WPA had to say about Heroes and Goats. As always the Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA (Win Probability Added — <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/28/17159170/cubs-heroes-and-goats-2018-season-primer">here’s a good explanation of how WPA works</a>) and are not in any way subjective. Many days WPA will not tell the story of what happened, but often it can give at least a glimpse to who rose to the occasion in a high leverage moment or who didn’t get the job done in that moment. Also note, for the purposes of Heroes and Goats, we ignore the results of pitchers while they are batting and hitters while they are pitching. With that, we get to the results.</p>
<p id="nZcCM7"><strong>Game 111, August 4: </strong>Cubs 7, Brewers 2 (60-51)</p>
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<iframe src="https://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2019-08-04&team=Cubs&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width="450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2019-08-04&team=Cubs&dh=0&season=2019">FanGraphs</a></span>
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<p id="jM7QIE"><strong>THREE HEROES:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="65ASil">
<strong>Superhero: </strong><span>Jason Heyward</span> (.222). J-Hey got the Cubs started with a solo homer in the bottom of the first. He added an RBI-triple in the second. In all he had two hits in five at bats, three runs driven in and two scored. Jason’s line is up to .276/.353/.472 (wRC+ 113). </li>
<li id="p4SDFA">
<strong>Hero: </strong><span>Kyle Schwarber</span> (.167). Schwarbs had a perfect day at the plate. He had two hits, including a solo homer, a walk and a hit by pitch in four plate appearances. He scored two runs. Kyle is back above sea level with a line of .228/.325/.484 (wRC+ 106).</li>
<li id="cv0vt9">
<strong>Sidekick: </strong><span>Yu Darvish</span> (.156). Yu threw five innings and allowed only one run on a solo homer by MVP candidate <span>Christian Yelich</span>. He allowed five hits, no walks and struck out eight. </li>
</ul>
<p id="If2Nca"><strong>THREE GOATS:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="VxfS6D">
<strong>Billy Goat: </strong><span>Victor Caratini</span> (-.094). Vic had just one walk in four plate appearances. </li>
<li id="S7v3Of">
<strong>Goat: </strong><span>Anthony Rizzo</span> (-.038). This one needs some explanation. I feel certain that this is the first four hit game to ever land on one of the Goat podiums. Anthony had a one-out single in the second inning. The Cubs eventually loaded the bases but he was caught trying to score (-.071). All four hits were singles and two of them were worth a total of just .004 because the game was already out of hand. </li>
<li id="4nTSGi">
<strong>Kid: </strong><span>Tony Kemp</span> (-.027). Tony had a single, a sacrifice fly and a run scored on the day. </li>
</ul>
<p id="6RDQ3T"><strong>WPA Play of the Game: </strong>Jason Heyward. Jason lands here for his RBI-triple in the second inning with two outs and a runner on second (.116). That gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead. His homer in the first, which tied the game at one, was the second biggest play of the game too. (.106)</p>
<p id="PpgaFC">*Brewers Play of the Game: Christian Yelich’s solo homer in the first to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. (.105)</p>
<p id="Z8tWhR"><strong>Cumulative Standings Top/Bottom 3:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="PkIug2">
<span>Kris Bryant</span> 23.5</li>
<li id="4SyThO">Anthony Rizzo 18</li>
<li id="e4Xo2x">
<span>Javier Baez</span> 14.5</li>
<li id="U0VbJh">
<span>Albert Almora Jr.</span> -10.5</li>
<li id="o65rxA">!<span>Carl Edwards Jr.</span> -12</li>
<li id="PFGOY2">*<span>Pedro Strop</span> -17</li>
</ul>
<p id="afOWcF"><strong>Up Next: </strong>The Athletics come in having won three straight and six of seven. Over the weekend they took both games they played against the Cardinals. Before that, they took two of three from the Brewers. All of those games were in Oakland. This is the start of a road trip for them. The A’s are 63-48 overall, but only 27-25 away from home. The Cubs will be looking to start their homestand with four straight wins. </p>
<p id="5F6XQi">They’ll send <span>Kyle Hendricks</span> to the mound. Kyle is 8-8 with a 3.07 ERA in 120⅓ innings. He is 1-4 with a 3.22 ERA over his last seven starts in 36⅓ innings pitched. He was fantastic last time in St. Louis, throwing seven innings and allowing no runs on his way to a win. He allowed seven hits, no walks and seven strikeouts. He’ll look to continue a historic Cubs streak of starting pitchers not walking opposing hitters. He has one start in his career against the A’s, but it came three years ago in Oakland. He was a winner, throwing 7⅓ innings and allowing three hits, no walks and one run. He struck out four. Only five players on the A’s have ever batted against the Cubs and two of them are starting pitchers that the A’s acquired from the <a href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a> (<span>Tanner Roark</span> and <span>Homer Bailey</span>). The two A’s with meaningful numbers are <span>Khris Davis</span> (19 PA, .663 OPS) and <span>Stephen Piscotty</span> (18, .863). </p>
<p id="Q7iq4M">30-year-old right-hander <span>Chris Bassitt</span> starts for the A’s. Chris is 7-5 with a 3.84 ERA in 100⅔ innings. Over his last seven starts he is 3-2 with a 4.21 ERA in 36⅓ innings. Last time out he got a no decision against the Brewers. In that one he pitched very well, throwing six scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, one walk and six strikeouts. He’s never started a game against the Cubs. Bassitt has allowed a .701 OPS to righties and a .671 to lefties. He’s allowed a .619 OPS at home, but a .738 on the road. Just two Cubs have any experience against him. <span>Nicholas Castellanos</span> has 12 PA with a 1.053 OPS. Tony Kemp has one walk in two plate appearances. </p>
<p id="LLlTp4">Let’s hope the Cubs can keep their momentum going and their home field advantage against a very good A’s team that is a bit more mortal on the road. </p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/5/20754405/2019-cubs-heroes-and-goats-game-111Thomas Smith2019-08-04T17:30:17-05:002019-08-04T17:30:17-05:00Cubs 7, Brewers 2: Sweep!
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<p>The Cubs thoroughly dominated their division rival.</p> <p id="pBsMo0">I just cannot imagine a better weekend of baseball at Wrigley Field, can you?</p>
<p id="ZMP3X5">The weather was perfect: Unlimited sunshine, pleasant temperatures around 80 degrees, gentle breezes off Lake Michigan, low humidity.</p>
<p id="rytFeS">And the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> baseball was nearly perfect, as they led the <a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a> at the end of all 27 innings played over the weekend and scored runs on home runs and otherwise in a solid offensive display. Combined with excellent pitching by <span>Yu Darvish</span>, that led to <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2019_08_04_milmlb_chnmlb_1">a 7-2 win Sunday</a> which gave the Cubs a three-game sweep.</p>
<p id="PBpdHN">Darvish was touched up for a home run in the first inning by <span>Christian Yelich</span> — which could have been worse if not for a double play which immediately preceded it — and then the Cubs offense got to work.</p>
<p id="pKKXbr"><span>Jason Heyward</span> got that run back <a href="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/04/9d4d4872-bf7a642f-a4339899-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">on the first pitch thrown by Adrian Houser. [VIDEO]</a></p>
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<p id="lGzmyJ">That was Heyward’s second leadoff home run in this series and 17th of the year.</p>
<p id="B7jm3F">J-Hey then gave the Cubs the lead in the second inning. <span>David Bote</span> singled with one out and was sacrificed to second by Darvish. <a href="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/04/0e4b25dc-2e722682-2b7ddda9-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">Heyward rendered the sacrifice irrelevant [VIDEO].</a></p>
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<p id="lsJdcj">The triple made it 2-1, and had me thinking about a cycle for Heyward, since he had the two toughest hits (homer, triple) in the first two innings. He struck out, hit into a force play and popped up in his other three plate appearances, but a 2-for-5 day with a pair of extra-base hits and two RBI is a fine afternoon’s work. Since Heyward was moved to the leadoff spot: 5-for-20 (.250), but with a double, triple and two home runs along with a pair of walks. So that’s a .318 OBP... and a .700 SLG for a 1.018 OPS. Small sample size (only four games), to be sure, but I think Heyward should be left in the leadoff spot, for now, anyway.</p>
<p id="HiUHqr">Anyway, after Heyward’s triple, <span>Nicholas Castellanos</span> <a href="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/04/7cf8056f-fd5a0187-d6b19288-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">made it 3-1 [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="UzcTNA"></p>
<p id="xrw8Cq">That was a nice bit of hitting, an opposite-field single. The Cubs were doing a lot of oppo hitting in this game, a real good sign for this offense, I think.</p>
<p id="HvkSCF">Darvish wound up throwing five innings, allowing five hits and just the one run, with no walks and eight strikeouts. He threw 93 pitches largely because of some long counts and many foul balls, but I thought this was another excellent outing. Here’s how good Darvish has been lately:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yu Darvish since July 1:<br>2.78 ERA in 35.2 IP, 2 BB, 44 K<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a></p>— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) <a href="https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/1158122126844542977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2019</a>
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<p id="hYt9y5">That’s really, really good. Oh, and he did all that while not feeling well:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Maddon said there's been a bug going around the Cubs' clubhouse. Darvish pitched while feeling ill on Sunday. That played into him leaving the game after five innings. Darvish didn't speak with media after the game under the circumstances.</p>— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/1158138183315574784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2019</a>
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<p id="EdvbQz"><span>Kyle Schwarber</span> increased the lead to 4-1 <a href="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/04/2aabd07a-f0ce785e-5b4a0928-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">in the bottom of the fifth [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="Hu3Yda">That was Kyle’s 25th of the season. He had a fine day at the plate, adding a single, walk and HBP to the home run.</p>
<p id="4TZdYR"><span>Derek Holland</span> was summoned to throw the sixth, which featured three lefthanded hitters for Milwaukee. This is exactly why Holland was acquired. He did allow a leadoff single and a hard-hit out, but struck out two and had a nice scoreless inning.</p>
<p id="GsPGwu">The Cubs plated one more run in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-1. <span>Tony Kemp</span> led off with a single, advanced to third on an infield out and another hit, and scored on Heyward’s fielder’s choice.</p>
<p id="gWBRh5"><span>Tyler Chatwood</span> entered to throw the seventh and had a 1-2-3 inning, helped out by <a href="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/04/2f96cbb2-269b1ec5-02770c2a-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">this nice diving catch by Heyward [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="MZnLOb">In the bottom of the frame, the Cubs put the game away. <span>Anthony Rizzo</span> led off with a single and was forced at second by <span>Javier Baez</span>. Schwarber then was hit by a pitch and <span>Victor Caratini</span> walked to load the bases. Kemp hit a sacrifice fly, scoring <span>Baez</span>, and <a href="https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-08/04/3ce97f9b-4e1396b8-589f0234-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">next up was Bote [VIDEO]</a>.</p>
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<p id="JwxGEm">Chatwood served up a home run to Brewers rookie <span>Trent Grisham</span>, his first big-league homer, leading off the eighth, but otherwise put together a nice three-inning, two-hit, five-strikeout outing. Since he finished the game and threw three innings, Chatwood gets a save for his effort, his second of the season. That also saved the rest of the bullpen for the upcoming series against the A’s.</p>
<p id="aIBkSK">Here’s how dominant Cubs pitching was in this series, in which they outscored the Brewers 17-5:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> pitchers struck out 15 and walked none today:<br><br>- Most Ks by Cubs pitching in a 9-inning game this year<br>- Most Cubs strikeouts without a walk since 7/30/02<br>- Cubs starters have not issued a walk in six straight games for the first time since at least 1905 <a href="https://t.co/6DyKazrkJs">pic.twitter.com/6DyKazrkJs</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1158133050674425864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2019</a>
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<p id="YxDCnj">In addition to all that, it was the 36th nine-inning game in Cubs franchise history (since 1908, as far back as baseball-reference’s database goes) in which the pitching staff recorded at least 15 strikeouts. (If you’re interested, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/tiny/wKxvH">here’s the entire list</a>.)</p>
<p id="czUgbS">The Cubs now lead the Brewers by four games in the N.L. Central standings and are 7-5 against them this season. They improved their record at Wrigley Field to 39-18, the second-best home record in the National League (<a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a>, 42-15). Since the All-Star break they are 10-2 at Wrigley Field. The mystifying thing, of course, is: Why can’t they do this on the road? That is the problem the Cubs are going to have to solve, and soon.</p>
<p id="83cJ1X">In the meantime, we await the result of the <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a>/A’s game, which is still going at this writing. Oakland is leading 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning. If that score holds up, the Cubs’ lead over the Cardinals will increase to 1½ games.</p>
<p id="FCB9tX">And, the Cubs will await the arrival of the <a href="https://www.athleticsnation.com/">Athletics</a> to begin a three-game series at Wrigley Field, with the first game Monday evening at 7:05 p.m. CT. <span>Kyle Hendricks</span> will start for the Cubs and <span>Chris Bassitt</span> will go for the A’s. TV coverage will be via WGN (and there will also be a national broadcast on ESPN, available outside the Cubs and A’s market territories).</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/4/20754128/cubs-brewers-recap-yu-darvish-jason-heyward-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2019-08-04T15:20:00-05:002019-08-04T15:20:00-05:00Overflow thread 2: Cubs vs. Brewers, Sunday 8/4, 1:20 CT
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<p id="j9OeR0">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/4/20750740/overflow-thread-2-cubs-vs-brewers-sunday-8-4-1-20-ctAl Yellon2019-08-04T14:20:00-05:002019-08-04T14:20:00-05:00Overflow thread 1: Cubs vs. Brewers, Sunday 8/4, 1:20 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="j9OeR0">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/4/20750739/overflow-thread-1-cubs-vs-brewers-sunday-8-4-1-20-ctAl Yellon2019-08-04T13:15:00-05:002019-08-04T13:15:00-05:00First pitch thread: Cubs vs. Brewers, Sunday 8/4, 1:20 CT
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<figcaption>Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="j9OeR0">Go get ‘em, Yu.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/4/20750736/first-pitch-thread-cubs-vs-brewers-sunday-8-4-1-20-ctAl Yellon2019-08-04T11:30:00-05:002019-08-04T11:30:00-05:00Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers preview, Sunday 8/4, 1:20 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs go for the three-game sweep.</p> <p id="jjSd8H">ICYMI, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK201908030.shtml">the Athletics defeated the Cardinals 8-3</a> late Saturday evening, so the Cubs begin today’s action in first place, half a game ahead of St. Louis.</p>
<p id="46SffA">Notes:</p>
<ul>
<li id="kFLl0Z">Cubs pitchers have struck out at least eight batters and allowed two or fewer walks in six straight games, the club’s longest streak since at least 1908.</li>
<li id="kGyzwZ">The Cubs are now 18-5 against N.L. Central teams at home this year, including a combined 10-1 record at home vs. the Brewers (4-1) and Cardinals (6-0).</li>
<li id="U7fy9e">
<span>Javier Baez</span> hit his team-high fourth triple of the season Saturday and leads the team with 39 multi-hit games.</li>
<li id="ZcmG3R">
<span>Rowan Wick</span> since his latest recall from Triple-A: seven appearances, 0.00 ERA, one hit and three walks allowed, nine strikeouts. FWIW, the win he posted Saturday was his first major-league victory.</li>
<li id="psTCrN">
<span>Nicholas Castellanos</span>’ double Saturday was his 39th of the season. He continues to lead MLB in that category.</li>
</ul>
<p id="gRDaAN">Here are today’s particulars.</p>
<p id="3IvQgQ"><a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> lineup:</p>
<div id="BStdwq">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here is today's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> starting lineup. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EverybodyIn?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EverybodyIn</a><br><br>Game preview: <a href="https://t.co/4kHBeiIaiS">https://t.co/4kHBeiIaiS</a> <a href="https://t.co/dD06Khte8T">pic.twitter.com/dD06Khte8T</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1158029887338422272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2019</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="ao1n2Y">Kris Bryant has needed a day off for a while. Today, he gets one.</p>
<p id="54jnM4"><a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a> lineup:</p>
<div id="HJwNyq">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here’s the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brewers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brewers</a> lineup for the finale of our series in Chicago. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThisIsMyCrew?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThisIsMyCrew</a> <a href="https://t.co/vo1jCMOpuV">pic.twitter.com/vo1jCMOpuV</a></p>— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brewers/status/1158032231325192192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2019</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<h2 id="V5jSYv">
<span>Yu Darvish</span>, RHP vs. <span>Adrian Houser</span>, RHP</h2>
<div class="c-float-left"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_g6TilptV3Tnevw63F9H-4XH6KU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16020625/usa_today_12381470.jpg">
<cite>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-float-right"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G-DMS-MwzESHC5h0X0uBYqRYNK4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18435746/usa_today_12382925.jpg">
<cite>Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p id="Vm7K8e">Yu Darvish, last four starts: 2.25 ERA, 0.750 WHIP, just two walks and 30 strikeouts in 24 innings. This is the Darvish the Cubs thought they were getting last year. Better late than never, right? If he can keep throwing this way, the Cubs have the “ace” they need.</p>
<p id="Q5KaRm">Somewhat surprisingly, Darvish has not faced the Brewers this year — and the two starts he made against them last year were his two best, in which he totaled 12 innings and allowed a total of five hits, three walks, one earned run and 17 strikeouts. All told, current Brewers are hitting .190 (16-for-84) against Darvish with 30 strikeouts.</p>
<p id="aRsjjM">Maybe he can take over Quintana’s role as Brewer-killer.</p>
<p id="Ll86r9">Adrian Houser has made seven starts for the Brewers this year in 24 appearances, and he’s returning to the rotation due to several injuries to the Milwaukee rotation.</p>
<p id="GUgtXK">He’s made three relief appearances against the Cubs this year for a total of 4⅔ innings, with four hits and two runs allowed, the runs scoring <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN201905120.shtml">May 12 at Wrigley Field</a> on a home run by <span>Kris Bryant</span>.</p>
<p id="oWqUgZ"><a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=12718&position=P#pitchtype">Per Fangraphs</a>, Houser throws a lot of offspeed stuff, sliders and changeups, but can hit 95 with his fastball. I’d assume that FB velocity would be a bit lower as a starter than it was for him in the bullpe.</p>
<p id="6Y8mwd">Today’s game is on WGN. It’s also on TBS (outside the Cubs and Brewers market territories). TBS announcers: Brian Anderson and Ron Darling.</p>
<p id="cxuSIp"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/2019/08/04">Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.</a></p>
<p id="Xe5URc"><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2019_08_04_milmlb_chnmlb_1">MLB.com Gameday</a></p>
<p id="iDRiK8"><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/previews/2019/CHN201908040.shtml">Baseball-reference.com game preview</a></p>
<p id="AScVZw"><span>SB Nation game preview</span></p>
<p id="c01E3n">Please visit our SB Nation <a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a> site <a href="http://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brew Crew Ball</a>. 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.</p>
<p id="4R9cxt">The 2019 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used in previous years. Here’s how it works.</p>
<p id="uNrOo7">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).</p>
<p id="Jy7Er2">At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page. The First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads will be published in that stream, as well as the recap. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post, and at the time I write the recap I will rename the stream “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads” so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.</p>
<p id="F5ehVY">You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread, all the overflow threads and recap in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in <a href="http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/chicago-cubs-game-threads">this section link</a>). They will also appear in the game’s StoryStream as noted above.</p>
<p id="pjBR1E">The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at one hour, two hours and 2:45 after the scheduled game time.</p>
<p id="cWIBoH">Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
<p id="oY8Fk3"></p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/8/4/20747603/chicago-cubs-milwaukee-brewers-preview-sundayAl Yellon