The Cubs have a baby win streak going after ending one series with a win and starting the next in strong fashion. It\u2019s almost enough to make you want to stay up and watch them, which I actually did last night in spite of my proclamations. There wasn\u2019t much else happening, and the weather was perfect for a fire on the patio, so I set up the TV and relaxed.<\/p>\n
Pushing the streak to three seems very likely with Ben Brown<\/a> on the bump. Had he accumulated enough innings to qualify, his 1.74 ERA would rank third in MLB behind Jacob Misiorowski<\/a> (1.34) and Christopher Sanchez (1.54). Does anyone else find that two-tenths stair step a little odd? Not as odd as The Miz dotting a 104.5 mph fastball last night. My goodness.<\/p>\n Anywho, Brown just needs to get a little help from the bats to keep the train rolling. Pete Crow-Armstrong<\/a> leads off in center, Alex Bregman<\/a> is the DH, and Michael Busch<\/a> is at first. Seiya Suzuki<\/a> is in right, Ian Happ<\/a> is in left, Nico Hoerner<\/a> is at second, and Pedro Ram\u00edrez<\/a> handles third. Miguel Amaya<\/a> does the catching and Dansby Swanson<\/a> is at short.<\/p>\n They\u2019re facing 25-year-old righty Trevor McDonald<\/a> for the second time in a week, and they\u2019ll have to do much better tonight if they hope to win. This is the eighth start of the season and 12th total MLB appearance for the 2019 11th-round pick out of George County High School in Lucedale, MS. If that sounds familiar, it\u2019s because it\u2019s the same school that produced Justin Steele<\/a>. Or maybe it\u2019s because I just repurposed the writeup from that game.<\/p>\n McDonald worked his way diligently through a series of injuries to make his debut in 2024 after dominating the lower levels of the minors. That has not translated to the upper levels or MLB, though it was enough to stymie the Cubs. The righty struck out six over five innings of one-run ball, getting plenty of grounders.<\/p>\n McDonald works from a low arm slot and pitches to contact with a sinker-heavy repertoire meant to induce grounders. That 94 mph two-seam makes up 60% of his pitches, then he\u2019s got an 86 mph slider with more sweep and depth than most that accounts for nearly 30% of his remaining offerings. His 84 mph changeup plays way down in the zone and has not been effective at all thus far.<\/p>\n That was the case against the Cubs, who were able to handle the offspeed pitch with ease. They had trouble with the other two offerings, hence the poor results. McDonald has not allowed much to like-handed hitters so far, holding them to a .174 average with a .209 wOBA that includes no homers. Lefties have fared much better, however, with a .284 average and .371 wOBA and three homers.<\/p>\n Three of the four hits McDonald surrendered last week came to lefties, with PCA, Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros<\/a>, and Happ all getting to him. The latter was a triple to right that unsurprisingly was not cashed in. With righties slashing .065\/.147\/.065 against McDonald at home and lefties putting up a .290\/.361\/.419 line, I\u2019d say the Cubs might need to rely on the platoon splits in this one.<\/p>\n First pitch is at 9:05pm CT on Marquee and The Score.<\/p>\n Our Saturday crew.<\/p>\n Watch the game live on @WatchMarquee<\/a>. pic.twitter.com\/25v8ynBwVx<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\t