Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Rays Wednesday 4/20 game threadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2022-04-21T10:00:00-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/227975982022-04-21T10:00:00-05:002022-04-21T10:00:00-05:002022 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 12
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<figcaption>Photo by David Banks/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Cubs mauled by Rays in a rain-shortened game</p> <p id="1Hjv98">Wednesday night the Cubs played their first non-competitive game of 2022. Wednesday night the Rays bats were clicking and they had one of their best offensive performances of the young season. Their offense was one of the best in baseball last year and a big reason why they won 100 games last year. The last two nights they showed some glimpses of getting back on top. Cubs pitching was the unfortunate victim of those efforts. </p>
<p id="ZiepYX">In a game that had to be moved up by more than an hour in order to get in even the five plus innings that did happen, there wasn’t a lot to be really excited about. This was a pretty lopsided affair. The Rays ambushed Marcus Stroman with four runs in the first inning and after that, the only real question was going to be if the teams could get the requisite five innings played. Still, we take our look at three positives from the game. </p>
<p id="Fstqsk">First, Stroman battled into the fifth inning. He clearly wasn’t on his game, though he did strike out seven. I didn’t look for postgame comments, but I don’t imagine Marcus did a lot of excuse making and likely just tipped his cap to a good team saying that he needs to execute better the next time. But I’m sure the accelerated game time interfered with his normal prep on game day for a start. To be fair, that would be in effect that both teams dealt with, but some players are more creatures of routine and habit than others. But, my point in this positive is that by gutting through close to five innings, the Cubs only had to use one reliever. They are coming to the end of a stretch of 13 consecutive games. In this early part of the season, the bullpen has gotten a ton of usage with short starts by a number of starters. By giving most of the pen a night off, there should be an awful lot more bullets in the chamber for the weekend series. </p>
<p id="dynA81">Second, Daniel Norris. The one reliever that did get into the game was relatively effective. Daniel hasn’t gotten a lot of work early in an extremely deep pen with expanded rosters. He hadn’t worked in five days. He was greeted by an RBI double, allowing the eighth and final run charged to Stroman. But he faced five more batters after that and struck out three of them. He ends up being a bit of a hard luck Kid in this game. In ordinary circumstances if a reliever faces six batters, allows a double and then retires five straight, they are going to end up with a positive WPA score. </p>
<p id="0JOpGo">Third, Frank Schwindel. I was one of many who wondered what season number two of the Frank the Tank experiment would look like. Through 12 games it looks like this: .261/.292/.457. No question you’d like to see those first two numbers tick up, but the power has been there. One number to keep an eye on is an early .263 BABIP for Frank. I always caution reading too much into BABIP without watching a lot of film. It can be easy to say that a guy is hitting into a lot of bad luck when that number is down. But it could also mean that a player is A) hitting right into a shifted defense or B) they are making a lot of weak contact. Still, Frank had a BABIP of .348 in his breakout half season of 2021. One would certainly expect in both instances that the number would revert much closer to league average. In this year’s case, that means Frank probably will nudge up that batting average and with the power he is already generating, that’s a decently productive bat at first for the Cubs while they rebuild.</p>
<p id="zJTSwx">Let’s get to the numbers from yesterday’s game. </p>
<p id="sibgSj"><strong>Game 12, April 20: </strong>Rays 8 at Cubs 2 (6-6)</p>
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<iframe src="https://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=wins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2022-04-20&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/wins.aspx?date=2022-04-20&team=Cubs&dh=0&season=2022">FanGraphs</a></span>
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<p id="7uPhH3">Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.</p>
<p id="xkuPVS"><strong>THREE HEROES:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="7BbQJE">
<strong>Superhero: </strong>Ian Happ (.043). 1-3, R, K</li>
<li id="kCKoI7">
<strong>Hero: </strong>Frank Schwindel (.042). 1-3, 2B, RBI</li>
<li id="ZNCGww">
<strong>Sidekick</strong>: Nico Hoerner (-.003). 0-1, BB</li>
</ul>
<p id="dHJTd2"><strong>THREE GOATS:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li id="MMr0hC">
<strong>Billy Goat: </strong>Marcus Stroman (-.413). 4⅓ IP (24 batters), 8H, 2BB, 8R (7ER), 7K (L 0-2)</li>
<li id="Hu1q85">
<strong>Goat: </strong>Yan Gomes (-.041). 0-2, K</li>
<li id="280uMe">
<strong>Kid: </strong>Daniel Norris (-.036). 1⅔ IP (6 batters), H, 3K</li>
</ul>
<p id="O8E2xn"><strong>WPA Play of the Game: </strong>With two outs and a runner on first, the Cubs were already trailing 2-0 when Francisco Mejia faced Marcus Stroman. Mejia delivered a two-run homer. (.147)</p>
<p id="IaayIS">*Cubs Play of the Game: The Cubs were trailing 5-0 when Frank Schwindel batted with runners on first and third with one out in the third. Frank doubled, giving the Cubs their first run and setting up their second. (.084)</p>
<div id="QGGeaj"><div data-anthem-component="poll:11154193"></div></div>
<p id="EDY3bo"><strong>Rizzo Award Cumulative Standings: </strong>(Top 3/Bottom 3)</p>
<p id="eEPeIk">The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.</p>
<ul>
<li id="JIlr3g">Ian Happ +10</li>
<li id="1To6ww">Seiya Suzuki +8.5</li>
<li id="cdaPSj">Drew Smyly/Keegan Thompson +6</li>
<li id="vKe6Va">Kyle Hendricks/Chris Martin/Marcus Stroman -5</li>
</ul>
<p id="era7dd"><strong>Up Next: </strong>The Cubs open a four-game series at Wrigley Field against the Pirates. Mark Leiter Jr. will make his second start as a Cub. The first one featured two good innings before the bottom fell out in a start in Colorado. He’ll hope to improve on that performance in the friendlier confines of Wrigley. </p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/4/21/23035270/2022-cubs-heroes-and-goats-game-12Thomas Smith2022-04-21T08:00:00-05:002022-04-21T08:00:00-05:00Rays 8, Cubs 2: The importance of defense
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<figcaption>Photo by David Banks/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Defensive miscues weren’t the only reason the Cubs lost this game, but they did make a difference.</p> <p id="UOACHT">I noted this in <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/4/20/23033442/cubs-rays-recap-patrick-wisdom-nico-hoerner-mlb-scores">the recap to Tuesday’s loss to the Rays</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p id="fdDbXU">Watching the Rays for two days, what I have seen is one of the most fundamentally sound teams in the game. They are defensively air-tight and do not beat themselves.</p></blockquote>
<p id="NGTeDO">Many don’t realize how important this sort of thing is to winning baseball. <a href="https://www.mlb.com/gameday/rays-vs-cubs/2022/04/20/663146#game_state=final,game_tab=box,game=663146">The Cubs lost 8-2 to the Rays</a> in the rain-shortened series finale Wednesday evening at Wrigley Field, and it wasn’t all because of defensive miscues, but they did play a role.</p>
<p id="PWskjm">Here, let me explain.</p>
<p id="q0Xd4U">Marcus Stroman walked the first hitter he faced, who then advanced to second on an infield out.</p>
<p id="wXahB3"><a href="https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-04/20/989c3e39-8d1f0db8-21e930c3-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">This is what happened next [VIDEO].</a></p>
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<p id="Gcih5M">Now, that’s not an easy play at third base. But I think Patrick Wisdom, who is a plus defender there, would have made that play, or at least knocked the ball down and kept it in the infield. Jonathan Villar didn’t and it’s 1-0 Rays.</p>
<p id="Av1QyY"><a href="https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-04/20/a20ae621-76b8af10-d48944a6-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">Then this happened [VIDEO].</a></p>
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<div><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com%2FFORGE%2F2022%2F2022-04%2F20%2Fa20ae621-76b8af10-d48944a6-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4&key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"></iframe></div></div>
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<p id="PoPjqI">Whether Wisdom could have tagged Randy Arozarena out, I do not know. But I’m pretty sure Wisdom prevents that ball from going into left field and allowing Arozarena to score.</p>
<p id="SF0jHO">So that’s two defensive miscues and two runs. Maybe that entire inning, where the Rays scored two more runs on a two-run homer, turns out differently with better defense. Obviously we’ll never know, but it does show the value of having good defenders.</p>
<p id="xuqDX0">The Rays put another run on the board in the second off Stroman to make it 5-0. The Cubs did come back with a rally in the third. Villar singled with one out and advanced to third on a single by Ian Happ.</p>
<p id="k6UiYj"><a href="https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-04/20/06afa4df-84037f74-0c3dbddd-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">Frank Schwindel put the Cubs on the board [VIDEO].</a></p>
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<div><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com%2FFORGE%2F2022%2F2022-04%2F20%2F06afa4df-84037f74-0c3dbddd-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4&key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"></iframe></div></div>
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<p id="wFvJtL">For Schwindel that extended his hitting streak to nine games in which he’s batting .278/.297/.528 (10-for-36) with three doubles and two home runs.</p>
<p id="myxHH0"><a href="https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-04/20/d49a97aa-8918362c-5db6d4e5-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">Nick Madrigal batted next [VIDEO].</a></p>
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<p id="bAHx81">Madrigal’s RBI groundout made it 5-2 and gave some brief hope the Cubs could get back in the game. A light rain that had started to fall early in the game got a bit harder at this point and I decided to bail from the bleachers and go sit under cover in the terrace reserved seating, where there were plenty of empty seats (probably only about 7,000 of the 26,167 announced were actually in the house).</p>
<p id="l9hQ1K">Not every defensive play in this game was bad. <a href="https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2022/2022-04/20/4b6dff9d-f1435e2f-8b2a4b62-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4">Stroman helped himself out with this slick grab in the fourth [VIDEO].</a></p>
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<div><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com%2FFORGE%2F2022%2F2022-04%2F20%2F4b6dff9d-f1435e2f-8b2a4b62-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4&key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"></iframe></div></div>
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<p id="SqMnJt">But then, with Arozarena leading off the fifth, Villar committed his third miscue of the game, a throwing error that allowed the Rays outfielder to reach second base (that was the only actual error charged to Villar; two others were charged to catcher Yan Gomes). One out later, two straight extra-base hits scored a pair of runs and Stroman was replaced by Daniel Norris, who served up another XBH that made it 8-2. Again, maybe that inning turns out differently with better defense.</p>
<p id="fZQ1TD">At this point the rain was falling pretty hard and it seemed fairly clear that once the game got past the fifth inning, if the tarp had to be pulled, the game would not be resumed. In the last of the fifth, Seiya Suzuki led off with a walk. That brought his on-base streak to 12 games, which is a franchise record for the start of a Cubs career. The Cubs, though, did not score, and Suzuki was replaced by Michael Hermosillo to start the bottom of the sixth, a smart move. No need to risk the health of your star player, your big investment, in weather conditions like that.</p>
<p id="2IU8KH">After Norris threw a 1-2-3 sixth, the tarp was indeed pulled and I decided to head home. This turned out to be the right decision, because after a delay of a bit more than an hour the game was called. It was the shortest game at Wrigley Field in almost 13 years:</p>
<div id="t1dd6v">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The last game at Wrigley Field before tonight that did not complete the sixth inning (and a result was posted) was May 26, 2009 against the Pirates <a href="https://t.co/6g5uGLqjj7">https://t.co/6g5uGLqjj7</a></p>— Al Yellon (@bleedcubbieblue) <a href="https://twitter.com/bleedcubbieblue/status/1516958842676035585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2022</a>
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<p id="HoHDC5">The Cubs made the right call moving the game time up by more than an hour. With the Rays only coming through Chicago once and only one real possible makeup date (late September), the game really had to be played as scheduled.</p>
<p id="5OO2TN">I blame the Rays for the lousy weather. They spent six days in Chicago, splitting six games with the White Sox and Cubs, and the game-time conditions each day were as follows:</p>
<blockquote><p id="reOtxF"><strong>April 15:</strong> 47 degrees, cloudy<br><strong>April 16:</strong> 44 degrees, sunny<br><strong>April 17:</strong> 41 degrees, cloudy<br><strong>April 18:</strong> 40 degrees, cloudy<br><strong>April 19:</strong> 42 degrees, cloudy<br><strong>April 20:</strong> 51 degrees, overcast, rain</p></blockquote>
<p id="BzlQYk"><a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-87.65559107065201&lat=41.94817682217274">Today’s forecast:</a></p>
<blockquote><p id="eCTCOz">Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 68. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.</p></blockquote>
<p id="BpUh1F">Draw your own conclusions. (Also, that 51 degree temp at game time Wednesday? I beg to differ. It felt just as cold as the previous two days.)</p>
<p id="xbJ9FW">Anyway, the Cubs played pretty well for two days against a very good team, not so well the third, and I think that’s about what we can expect from this Cubs team. They’re going to look really good at times, not so much at others, and that’s a sign of a .500 team — which is what I said they’d be before this season started.</p>
<p id="mAc8y7">They sit at exactly .500 going into a four-game weekend series against the Pirates, which begins tonight. The Pirates aren’t very good so the Cubs have a chance to put together some wins. In Thursday’s series opener it will be Mark Leiter Jr. for the Cubs against Bryse Wilson for the Pirates. Game time is 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Pirates market territories).</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/4/21/23035259/cubs-rays-recap-jonathan-villar-marcus-stroman-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2022-04-20T19:00:00-05:002022-04-20T19:00:00-05:00Overflow thread: Cubs vs. Rays, Wednesday 4/20, 5:30 CT
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<figcaption>Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="H145Ds">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/4/20/23033551/overflow-thread-cubs-vs-rays-wednesday-4-20-5-30-ctAl Yellon2022-04-20T17:25:00-05:002022-04-20T17:25:00-05:00First pitch thread: Cubs vs. Rays, Wednesday 4/20, 5:30 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="H145Ds">Go get ‘em, Marcus.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/4/20/23033550/first-pitch-thread-cubs-vs-rays-wednesday-4-20-5-30-ctAl Yellon2022-04-20T15:30:00-05:002022-04-20T15:30:00-05:00Chicago Cubs vs. Tampa Bay Rays preview, Wednesday 4/20, 5:30 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs go for the series win.</p> <p id="VmpB3G">In case you have not already heard, <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/4/20/23033860/cubs-move-game-time-5-30-rays">tonight’s game time has been moved up to 5:30 p.m. CT.</a></p>
<p id="VmdWFw">That was done because <a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-87.65528362244366&lat=41.947882574885654">the weather forecast</a> doesn’t look great for tonight, though hopefully the earlier start will allow them to get the game in. Thus I present the radar for your reference:</p>
<div id="j0oClP"><center><img src="https://radblast-aa.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/radar/WUNIDS_map?station=LOT&brand=wui&num=10&delay=60&type=NCR&frame=0&scale=0.999&noclutter=0&t=1621025493&showstorms=0&map.x=400&map.y=240&centerx=400&centery=240&transx=0&transy=0&showlabels=1&severe=1&rainsnow=1&lightning=1" alt=" "></center></div>
<p id="XCj5eI"></p>
<p id="yMmJLA">Wednesday notes...</p>
<ul>
<li id="s5xoKh">
<strong>SEIYA:</strong> While Seiya Suzuki’s nine-game hitting streak came to an end last night, he did walk three times for the first such game in his MLB career. That raised his OBP to a MLB-leading .581 and gave him an 11-game on-base streak, tied with Art Williams (1902) and Tony Taylor (1958) for the longest such streak to start a Cubs career.</li>
<li id="sppvLR">
<strong>PATTY SMARTS:</strong> Patrick Wisdom’s pinch-homer last night was the third of his career and first since June 28, 2021 at Milwaukee. It also gave him homers in back-to-back games for the first time since August 27-28, 2021 against the White Sox. Over his last five games, Wisdom is hitting .533/.588/1.267 (8-for-15, 1.855 OPS) with five doubles, two homers, seven RBI, four runs scored and two walks.</li>
<li id="PXAh1F">
<strong>MORE PATTY SMARTS:</strong> Since he was called up to the Cubs last May 25, Wisdom has belted 30 homers (including one in each of his last two games). The 30 home runs in that span rank tied for third in the NL with Bryce Harper and trail only Pete Alonso (34) and Joey Votto (31).</li>
<li id="PUsDY1">
<strong>THE SCHWINDY CITY:</strong> Frank Schwindel is on an eight-game hitting streak in which he is batting .273/.294/.515 (9-for-33) with two doubles, two home runs, four runs scored and only three strikeouts.</li>
<li id="pVmeX3">
<strong>RANKINGS:</strong> Through Tuesday’s games, the Cubs rank second in MLB with a .349 OBP, fourth in MLB with a .437 SLG and third in MLB with a .786 OPS. All that is good for a 126 OPS+, which is second-best in MLB (Guardians, 139)</li>
</ul>
<p id="AS7WLJ">Here are today’s particulars.</p>
<p id="OmIgrW"><a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> lineup:</p>
<div id="8lpKyI">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here is tonight's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> starting lineup!<br><br>Reminder: First pitch has been moved up to 5:30 p.m. CDT. <a href="https://t.co/4JIGiFSUHW">pic.twitter.com/4JIGiFSUHW</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1516857308466270216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2022</a>
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<p id="nU1Gao"><a href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Rays</a> lineup:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rays?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rays</a> lineup vs <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a>, with game moved up to 6:30 EDT <a href="https://t.co/nGX1vGJPxE">pic.twitter.com/nGX1vGJPxE</a></p>— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) <a href="https://twitter.com/TBTimes_Rays/status/1516850452381450241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2022</a>
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<h2 id="lePhfq">Marcus Stroman, RHP vs. Drew Rasmussen, RHP</h2>
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<cite>USA TODAY NETWORK</cite>
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<cite>USA TODAY NETWORK</cite>
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<p id="ysRLaQ">Marcus Stroman has one good start and one bad one on his 2022 game log so far this year. Let’s take the Coors Field outing as an aberration and hope this one goes better.</p>
<p id="Te0684">As a player in both the AL East and NL East, Stroman has lots of experience against the Rays. He has a 4.57 ERA and 1.419 WHIP in 15 career starts against them. His one start against them last year, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TBA/TBA202105160.shtml">May 16, 2021 at the Trop</a>, wasn’t too good: five runs in six innings.</p>
<p id="7IlocT">Kevin Kiermaier is the Ray who’s faced him most: 9-for-33 (.286) with two home runs.</p>
<p id="cdlIwy">Drew Rasmussen came to the Rays last year in the Willy Adames trade and had a good year in Tampa both out of the pen and starting. As you can see by the graphic below, he’s another hard thrower.</p>
<p id="IRLq1C">He’s made two starts this year and neither one has been all that good. This will be his second straight start in the city of Chicago, as he allowed the White Sox three runs in five innings on the South Side <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA202204150.shtml">last Friday</a>.</p>
<p id="0JeciZ">He has never faced the Cubs and only three Cubs (Willson Contreras, Yan Gomes, Ian Happ) have faced him, and all three for just one at-bat. So, the advantage could be to Rasmussen.</p>
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<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/pitchmix#573186_2022" target="_blank">Statcast</a></cite>
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<cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/pitchmix#656876_2022" target="_blank">Statcast</a></cite>
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<p id="75Ruel">Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. <a href="https://www.marqueesportsnetwork.com/providers/">Here’s a list of providers currently carrying Marquee<strong>.</strong></a> </p>
<p id="6w2xna"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/2022/04/20">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=2022_04_20_tbamlb_chnmlb_1">MLB.com Gameday</a></p>
<p id="iDRiK8"><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/previews/2022/CHN202204200.shtml">Baseball-reference.com game preview</a></p>
<p id="7oSHCm">Please visit our SB Nation Rays site <a href="http://www.draysbay.com/">Drays Bay</a>. If you do go there to interact with Rays 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="mRtOMf">The 2022 Game Thread procedure will be like last years, similar to what we’ve used for Spring Training.</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, 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.</p>
<p id="F5ehVY">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 <a href="http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/chicago-cubs-game-threads">this section link</a>). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.</p>
<p id="pjBR1E">The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.</p>
<p id="cWIBoH">Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/4/20/23027997/chicago-cubs-tampa-bay-rays-preview-wednesdayAl Yellon