The Chicago Cubs didn’t wait for the season to resume before making some noise. Instead, the preseason favorites made a splash in the trade market on Thursday adding Jose Quintana to their rotation. Now, they’ll look to add a few wins to their resume with a strong showing in Charm City this weekend as they take on the struggling Baltimore Orioles in an interleague showdown between two disappointing teams.
This series will be contested from Friday, July 14, 2017 through Sunday, July 16, 2017 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
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Pitching Matchups
The addition of Quintana will undoubtedly have an impact on the Cubs’ weekend rotation. For now, Friday’s matchup will feature Kevin Gausman against Mike Montgomery.
Gausman has had a down year for the Orioles. After a breakout year in 2016, Gausman was expected to step into the role of team ace, but instead, he’s 5-7 with a 5.85 ERA. He’s also posted a 1.763 WHIP in his 97 innings. While his FIP and BABIP both point to some tough luck, he’s struggled with his command and has already issued 43 walks.
The 26-year old flamethrower looked like he was getting back on track with back to back scoreless outings before going just four innings and giving up six runs against the Twins in his last start of the first half. In that game, like in most of his games, he was done in by a single innings. He’s had issues letting things get out of control, something the Cubbies will look to exploit on Friday.
As for Montgomery, the southpaw began the season in the Chicago bullpen, but injuries to Brett Anderson, Kyle Hendricks and now John Lackey have forced him into the rotation.
Joe Maddon has often said he envisions Montgomery as a starter long-term, but he was valuable in the pen as well.
Overall, he’s 1-6 with a 3.75 ERA. His WHIP is a bit high and he’s walking nearly a batter every other inning like Gausman, but he’s done a much better job minimizing damage and avoiding hits.
Montgomery was also much better in the pen than in the rotation. He had a 2.50 ERA in 19 relief appearances, but he’s 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in six starts, spanning 30 innings. He’s averaging only five innings a start, but that’s ticked up some after ramping up the innings early.
Wade Miley will be the second pitcher out of the game for the O’s. His 4-7 record and 4.97 ERA is depressing given a strong start, but not surprising. Miley’s pitched just 88.2 innings, but leads the AL with 51 walks allowed. He’s allowing entirely too many base runners. He could get out of jams early, but has been terrible since.
He did allowing only one run in 5.2 innings to get a win in his last start, but prior to that, he wasn’t even able to get out of the third inning in three of six starts.
Chicago hasn’t announced its starters for Saturday, but the pitching woes have been significant for the reigning World Champions. With several hurlers on the shelf, Quintana gets the start on Sunday, but even he hasn’t been great. He’s only 4-8 with a 4.49 ERA, but his track record speaks for itself and the Cubs are banking on a turn around. His numbers are also a bit inflated due to a couple bad starts.
Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Eddie Butler are the other options to get a start. Surprisingly, Butler is having the best season of the three with a 3.88 ERA though now that he’s gotten a few more starts, he is starting to get a bit more exposed. Lester and Arrieta were Cy Young contenders last year and this year, each are mediocre mid-rotation arms at best with a 4.25 and 4.35 ERA respectively. They’re a combined 13-13.
Whoever takes the hill will have a good chance for some offensive support against the O’s. Gausman and Miley haven’t been good and neither has whoever they turn to on Sunday.
Dylan Bundy has been the team’s only semi-reliable arm and he’s already thrown nearly as many innings as he did last year. He’s looked gassed his last few starts. An extended break could help that, but he’s 8-8 with a 4.33. Ubaldo Jimenez and Chris Tillman have each been much, much worse.
Batting Comparison
Both the Cubs and Orioles each had just one representative in the All-Star game. Perhaps the time away will help both clubs recharge for a second-half run.
For the O’s, Manny Machado was just starting to heat up before the break, but with a .230 average, there’s no doubt he’s been a disappointment. The offense, in general, has been worse than last year even in a league scoring more than a season ago.
The Orioles will be getting Chris Davis back for this series, giving the O’s a bit more pop, but he’s still a strikeout machine and power isn’t the team’s weakness.
This lineup is stacked with players that can-do damage, but each have holes big enough for pitchers to exploit if they hit their spots. It’s now up to the Cubs’ pitchers to make that happen.
As for the Cubs, their crop of young position players has been the envy of the Major Leagues for a couple years, but nearly all have underperformed in the first half. Kris Bryant was solid, but not the MVP level of last year. Anthony Rizzo was okay, but is way down the list of first baseman in a stacked positional class.
Kyle Schwarber is back with the team after raking in Triple-A. If his confidence is back, he could be a huge asset to help this offense get on a roll. There’s no question the talent is there and the team is better top-to-bottom in the order than the Orioles, but right now, both teams present a ton of questions with lineups full of underperformers.
Bullpen Breakdown
The Cubs’ lone All-Star representative came from the pen as the Wade Davis trade is one offseason move that’s paid dividends.
The former Royal has recorded 16 saves, pitching to a 1.80 ERA in 30 innings. Brian Duensing, Carl Edwards, Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop and Koji Uehara make up a stacked pen.
In the past, the pen has been the secret weapon of the Orioles. Between the bullpen, good infield defense and a ton of power, the Orioles have been outperforming expectations since 2012 with that formula, until this year.
Zach Britton’s injury hurt the team. He’s back, but has looked a bit rusty in his first few appearances. Still, he helps lineup the back end of the game, bumping up Brad Brach who has performed admirably in his absence. Mychal Givens, Darren O’Day and Donnie Hart are all strong. It’s the middle innings that are weak and this team typically needs to go to the pen early and often.
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