The Cubs are coming off of a sweep of the Reds and will aim to stay hot in a matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend. Milwaukee has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the major leagues early on as they are 24-18 and atop the National League Central, two games in front of the Cubs.
While Milwaukee has the superior record, Chicago is more talented and gets these games at home, which will make it the favorite to win the majority of the matchups.
This series will be contested from Friday, May 19 through Sunday, May 21, 2017 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. All three games will be televised nationally on MLB Network.
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Pitching Matchups
The Cubs will open up this series by sending Eddie Butler to the mound. He has replaced the injured Brett Anderson as the fifth starter in the rotation and did great in his debut, tossing six scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. Butler has a career ERA over 6 so the Brewers hope to get to him. Milwaukee will counter with Paolo Espino, who will be making his major league debut. There could be plenty of runs in this one with two unproven pitchers facing off.
The Cubs are scheduled to throw Jake Arrieta on Saturday. He has struggled this year with a 4-3 record but a 5.44 ERA. His strikeout-to-walk ratio still looks solid, and a drop in the ERA should be forthcoming. Milwaukee will counter with Chase Anderson, who is 2-0 with a 3.43. Anderson had a tremendous start to the season but has been regressing in his past four starts.
In the finale, Chicago is expected to start John Lackey, who is 4-3 with a 4.37 ERA. He is striking out more than a batter per inning and should be fine despite some early-season woes. Milwaukee is expected to start Jimmy Nelson, who is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA. His peripherals look solid and Nelson will aim to tame a tough Chicago lineup.
Ian Happ Bursts Onto The Scene
The Cubs have one of the deepest lineups in the major leagues already but it recently got a talented reinforcement because of injuries. Top prospect Ian Happ was called up from the minor leagues and has wasted no time making an impact, batting .353 with two homers, four RBIs and five runs scored in only five games.
The Cubs already boast great hitters in their lineup, led by Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber. The lineup is pretty full already when everyone is healthy, so it will be interesting to see if Happ remains in the big leagues if the roster doesn’t have any of its current holes, but he’s making a case to remain in the lineup. Happ is a versatile player, and that helps his ability to find his way into the lineup.
He should definitely be around for the series against Milwaukee and hopes to stay hot.
Injury Report
The Brewers boast one of the hottest players in the league in the earlygoing in outfielder Eric Thames, who is batting .313 with 13 homers and 25 RBIs. He spent a couple years in South Korea after a ho-hum stint in the major leagues earlier in his career, starred there and now has come back and looked fantastic.
However, Thames has been sidelined recently because of a strep throat and a subsequent illness. Luckily it’s not an injury to one of his body parts which could have sidelined him for a length of time, but being sick is never a good thing.
Thames could be back for all or at least the latter part of this series, but keep an eye on him to see if he is batting like normal, or if the sickness zapped some of his strength. The Brewers will be the underdogs in this series so they need Thames to contribute in a big way in order to grab a couple victories.
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