Tuesday notes…
MOVIN’ ON UP: A win tonight would boost the Cubs’ record to 13 games above .500. They have not had 13 more wins than losses since they were 82-69 on Sept. 16, 2019, following a 4-2 loss at home to the Reds that snapped a five-game winning streak. They lost their next eight, too, falling to 82-77, then won twice and lost once to finish the season 84-78. This will be the Cubs’ 336th game since Sept. 17, 2019. They have won 172 and lost 163. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAT HUGHES!: The Hall of Fame Cubs radio voice turns 70 today.
A STREAK ENDS: Dansby Swanson’s 24-game on-base streak came to an end Monday when he went 0-for-4. Even with that, Swanson contributed with an RBI groundout. During the streak Swanson batted .356/.424/.621 (31-for-87) with two doubles, seven home runs, 14 RBI, 11 walks and 20 runs scored.
DEFEATING THE ROCKIES: With Monday’s win, the Cubs are 64-49 (.566) all-time vs. the Rockies at Wrigley Field and have won the last seven games between the two teams at Wrigley.
WHAT A RELIEF!: Over the last 11 games since May 14, the Cubs bullpen has posted a 1.16 ERA (five earned runs in 38⅔ innings), the lowest ERA by any MLB bullpen in that span. . During this stretch, the bullpen has allowed two runs in a game just twice and held opponents scoreless in eight of those 10 games.
Here are today’s particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Rockies lineup:
Cade Horton, RHP vs. Germán Márquez, RHP
Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
Allan Henry-Imagn Images
Cade Horton has gotten a bit better with each successive MLB start. In his last outing, last Wednesday against the Marlins, he threw 5⅓ innings and allowed one run. He also threw more pitches (92) than he had thrown in any previous start in his professional career, so perhaps this time he could complete six innings.
He’s never faced the Rockies, obviously, nor anyone on their active roster.
Germán Márquez had several decent years with the Rockies, then had Tommy John surgery which kept him out of most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
As sometimes happens, his first full year back from TJS has not been good, although he did manage seven innings and one earned run in two of his last three starts.
He hasn’t faced the Cubs since 2022 so instead let’s look at how current Cubs hitters have done against him: 18-for-65 (.277) with three home runs (Jon Berti, Dansby Swanson, Justin Turner).
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.