By Danny Rockett
"Bernie and Bernette"
The Cubs come back to Wrigley Field for a 7 game homestand beginning tonight against the red hot Milwaukee Brewers who have won 8 straight games. The Brewers have won so much recently that Kato Kaelin has nothing to bitch about! But it's really not that big of a deal as they've won the games against bad to mediocre teams like the Reds, Marlins, and Royals. The Cubs were of course swept by the Reds, albeit only a 1 game sweeping in Cincinnati, and split the opening series of the year in Miami. So while the Brewers are making hay against lesser opponents, the Cubs have not been and find themselves 3 games behind the 16-9 Brew Crew. The Cubs are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
But don't abandon hope! The Cubs won 3 of 4 in Milwaukee earlier this month, shutting out the Brewers in 2 of the games, outscoring them 20-7. The Cubs are a better hitting team. The Brewers have been a better pitching team so far. And the Brewers defense is shoddy as they lead the major leagues in errors. Here's some day old stats to illustrate.
Offense
Cubs hit 16 points higher than the Brewers. 3rd in MLB.
Cubs OBP of .350 is 29 points higher than the Brewers and are 2nd in Majors behind the A’s
Brewers have hit 6 more homers than the Cubs, 5th in majors
Both teams middle of the road in taking walks
The Brewers K more than the Cubs. 7th most in the majors. Cubs 22nd most.
The Brewers are 5th in SB’s. Cubs now last. Only 4.
Cubs have scored 21 more runs than the Brewers in 4 fewer games.
Pitching
3.32 Brewers to 4.04 Cubs Team ERA
Cubs starters climbing out of the basement with the 7th worst ERA in the majors
Brewers starters middle of the road with a 3.90 ERA
Brewers 2.56 Reliever ERA is 3rd best in the majors. Cubs have fallen to 6th with a 2.76
Middle of the road in giving up the long ball. Cubs are the 5th best team at keeping the ball in the park.
Cubs have given up 97 walks, 5th most. Mostly Eddie Butler. Brewers 12th.
Middle of the road in Ks for Brewers. Cubs 9th best.
Defense
Brewers lead the league in errors. 22. Cubs have 17. 7th
Catchers Pina and Bandy have been good. 3rd best SBPctgs
Willson and company are 7th. 2 more CS’s
Defensive Efficiency Ration: Cubs have the 7th worst Der. Brewers 7th best. 20 points behind their mark of .704
Of course it won't hurt the Cubs a bit that they just lost slugger Eric Thames to a thumb injury for 6-8 weeks and we all saw Corey Knebel go down hard with a hamstring strain the last time these teams met. Here are the pitching matchups.
G1
Chase Andersuck 2-1 3.25 Vs. Kyle Hendricks 1-1, 4.09
7:05
Might rain late. Game in the 40s
Earlier this month, we got 2 runs off of 4 hits off of Andersuck. Walked 2. Kd 2 and Zobrist homered.
Contreras had a double and a triple and was also HBP
Gave up 3 runs on 5 hits against Miami last time out
Bryant has 3 homers. Rizzo 1-12
Kyle gave up 4 runs on 9 hits in Milwaukee only lasted 5.
Gave up 3 runs on 5 hits last time vs. Colorado. Only lasted 5 but Kd 6.
Thames and Shaw homered off him and pretty much everyone else in the Brewers lineup got a hit.
G2
Lefty Brennnnt Suter 1-2 5.68 Vs Yu Darvish 0-2, 6.86
1:20 Cubs fleece blanket
NBC Sports
Cloudy, high 53. More possible rain.
Cubs got 5 runs on 8 hits. Chased him after 5. He walked 3.
Last time also gave up 5 runs against Miami.
Contreras, Almora and Russell all get hits half the time they face him.
Rizzo 0-11.
Yu gave up 5 runs on 4.2 innings. Walked 4 last time out vs. Colorado.
April 7th vs Brewers, he went 6 and struck out 9. 1 run on 2 hits. Thames homered
Yellich has homered off him too and Sogard is batting 313 and has seen him the most.
Villar and Cain have 1 hit and walk between them in 21 PA’s
G3
Junior Guerra 2-0, 0.56 Vs. Jose Quintana 2-1, 7.78
1:20 Dancing Bullpen Beverage tumbler
WGN
Sunny 45
Faced Junior in 5.2 innings last year. Only got a Kyle Schwarber homer off him last september.
Gave up 1 run on 5 hits against Miami last time out
Rizzo, Heyward, Russell, Baez and Almora at 0-23 collectively.
Jose 0 runs on 3 hits vs Milwaukee on 4/8, 2 walks, 6 ks 6 IP
Last time against Colorado. Gave up 4 runs on 8 hits. But 2 runs were the suns fault. Kd 7 through 5.1 IP
No Brewer has homered off of Jose. Cain has seen him the most. Batting .288.
Most Brewers numbers suck against him. Team batting only .207, .243 OBP.
39 Ks to only 7 walks. In 173 PAs
G4
Zachachachacha Davies Vs Tyler Chatwood 0-3, 3.74
1:20 Cubs Slouch “Beamie”...Jim Beam. Gotta be 21
NBC Sports
Sunny 54
Zachachacha1 run on 4 hits, Kd 8 Cubs through 6. Walked 3 earlier this month
Bryant homered off him.
Last time gave up 2 runs on 4 hits against KC and also lasted 6.
Bryant has 2 homers off him. So does Schwarber. Caratini and Contreras each have 1.
Tyler walked 5 and Kd 5. But only gave up 1 run on 4 hits against Cleveland.
Started against Milwaukee last April and gave up homers to Thames and Shaw.
Also gave up a homer to Jesus Eagle (Jesus Aguilar). 1.101 OPS Overall in 34 PAs
The Cubs can sweep their way into 1st place during this series. That'd be nice. Buy your tickets on Stubhub through this link and we get paid!