GOING FOR THE SWEEP: This is the 12th of the Cubs’ 42 series in which they have won the first two games and only the third on the road. They completed the sweep on April 2 at Sacramento against the Athletics and lost at Milwaukee on May 4. They are 4-6 in all chances for sweeps. There was no third game after they won twice in one series. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)THAT OTHER LEAGUE: This will be the Cubs’ final road game against an American League team. They are 13-10 in such games. Only two National League teams have done better. The Cardinals are 12-8 and the Phillies are 14-10. The Nationals, at 11-10, also have a winning record, for a total of four. The Brewers and Dodgers are 9-9. The Cubs were 12-11 at AL parks both of the past two seasons, the first two in which teams played more than 10 such games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)WALKING THE WALK: Kyle Tucker has walked 80 times this year. That is — just barely — a pace for 100 walks for the season. Only two Cubs have walked 100 times in a season in the last 40 years, a total of three times: Carlos Peña (101 in 2011) and Sammy Sosa (103 in 2002 and 116 in 2001). Sosa’s 116 walks in 2001 is tied (with Richie Ashburn in 1960) for the most for any Cubs player since 1912.SAVING THE DAY: Ben Brown’s three-inning outing Saturday qualified him for a save. Nine other Cubs have recorded at least one save this year: Daniel Palencia (19), Ryan Pressly (5), Andrew Kittredge (2), Porter Hodge (2), Chris Flexen (1), Brad Keller (1), Drew Pomeranz (1), Colin Rea (1) and Caleb Thielbar (1).
Jameson Taillon, RHP vs. Kyle Hendricks, RHP
Jameson Taillon was magnificent last Tuesday against the Brewers after a shaky start, allowing just one run over six strong innings.
He last faced the Angels more than two years ago and there aren’t many of those players left on their team. No Angels player has more than nine career at-bats against Taillon. Mike Trout is 1-for-7, a home run.
Go out and do what you did last Tuesday, Jamo.
Kyle Hendricks was not originally scheduled to pitch in this series. Jose Soriano, who would ordinarily have been the Angels starter today, was on paternity leave and asked for an extra day. So Hendricks was moved up to start on his normal four days’ rest, and Soriano will start for the Angels on Monday.
I don’t think I can tell you anything about Kyle that you don’t already know. His season ERA this year is about a run lower than it was last year with the Cubs, but he’s having essentially the same season — some good starts sprinkled in with games where he gets hit hard and gives up home runs. Over his last three starts: 7.53 ERA, 1.744 WHIP, three home runs in 14.1 innings. You’ll note from the chart below that he relies even more on his changeup than in previous years. That was a devastating pitch years ago; with his fastball velocity down, it isn’t quite as good.
Kyle was always my favorite of the World Series Cubs. It seems possible this could be the only time he faces them in his career. I wish him well, but also hope the Cubs hit him hard this afternoon.
He still looks weird in that red cap with the “A” on it.
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 live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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The 2025 Game Thread procedure will be identical to last year’s.
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.