The Chicago Cubs will look to bounce back in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, but they’ll have to wait an extra day.
That’s because Major League Baseball staggered the second game of the series in the National and American Leagues, giving the NL teams an extra day off in their series as the playoffs proceed.
The Cubs dropped Game 1 against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday as part of a quadruple-header of games. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers also picked up victories to go up 1-0 in their series, with the Dodgers and Tigers each scoring road wins to steal away home-field advantage.
The Cubs will hope to do the same when they resume the series this week. Here’s what you need to know.
When is the Cubs’ next game?
The Cubs and Brewers will resume their series at American Family Field on Monday night, with first pitch set for 8:08 p.m. Central.
Like Game 1, the contest will air on TBS, and will stream on HBO Max.
Who will the starting pitchers be for the game?
Neither the Brewers nor Cubs have announced their starting pitchers for Monday’s game. The Brewers could go with Quinn Priester as they look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, while the Cubs could go with Shota Imanaga on regular rest, or go with an “opener” like they did in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series.
If they go that route, Andrew Kittredge could be a potential option, or the Cubs could go with Colin Rea, who pitched in relief in Game 2 of the wild card round.
When will the series shift to Wrigley Field?
The Cubs and Brewers will shift their series to Wrigley for Games 3 and 4, if necessary, and as things stand now, Game 3 is set for an afternoon start, with first pitch at 4:08 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
Game 4, if necessary, is currently set to start at 8:08 p.m. Thursday, though that time could change depending on the outcomes of other series.
How likely is it that the Cubs can come back?
According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-five series have gone on to win the series 72.4% of the time. That number has been slightly better under the Division Series’ current 2-2-1 format, with the winning team of Game 1 winning the series 73.9% of the time.
That being said, the Cubs did win the season series against the Brewers, and they had Major League Baseball’s best winning percentage in games coming off a loss, going 47-24 in those games according to Fangraphs.