Chicago Cubs vs. Kansas City Royals preview, Friday 8/7, 7:10 CT

Friday notes… STARTING A ROAD TRIP: The Cubs are 5-4 this year in first games of road trips. Last year, they finished 4-8. They are 5-4 on Friday on the road. Last year, they finished 4-9. They are 8-10 in first games of series on the road. Last year, they finished 9-17. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53) THR

What is the story about?

Friday notes…

STARTING A ROAD TRIP: The Cubs are 5-4 this year in first games of road trips. Last year, they finished 4-8. They are 5-4 on Friday on the road. Last year, they finished 4-9. They are 8-10 in first games of series on the road. Last year, they finished 9-17. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
THREE IS THE NUMBER OF THE COUNTING: With yesterday’s 3-2 win, the Cubs are 5-6 when they have scored exactly three runs and 63-19 when they have scored three or more. They are 4-30 with two or fewer: 10 shutout losses, 1-11 with one run and 3-9 with two. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

TRIPLE DIGITS: The winning run yesterday boosted the Cubs’ run differential for the season to triple digits for the first this at the end of a game this season. They are +100, 595-495. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Ricky Gutierrez scores the winning run in a crazy ninth inning in a 5-4 Cubs walk-off win over the Rockies. During this game former Bear Steve McMichael was ejected from Wrigley Field by plate umpire Angel Hernandez for making comments dissing the umpires during the seventh-inning stretch. It happened 25 years ago today, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2001.

Cubs lineup:

Royals lineup:

Kevin Gausman, RHP vs. Daniel Lynch IV, LHP

It has been noted elsewhere that while Kevin Gausman’s ERA is high (4.38), his FIP (3.50) is right in line with his career norms, and now he has the Cubs defense behind him.

It also should be noted that Gausman’s worst start of the year (two innings, seven runs) came against Cubs hitters June

19 at Wrigley Field, and in his 22 other starts he has a 3.94 ERA.

His last start against the Royals was Aug. 1, 2025 in Toronto. He allowed five runs in six innings, not so great. Current Royals are batting .267 (20-for-75) against him, but a lot of that is Starling Marte (8-for-15, three doubles, a home run). So keep Marte down and this could be a good game for Gausman.

As you can see below, his repertoire is pretty simple: Four-seamer, splitter, slider. Seems to work well for him.

According to this, Daniel Lynch IV, who has been a reliever all year, is being given a full starting rotation shot due to injuries. More:

Lynch has been mostly a one-inning guy all year. The most pitches he’s thrown in any game is 32, and that was back in May. He last pitched on Tuesday, so who knows how long he will go. He has never faced the Cubs and the only Cubs who have seen him are Alex Bregman (1-for-1) and Michael Conforto (0-for-1), so that’s pretty meaningless.

Incidentally, if you are wondering about the “IV” after Lynch’s name, here’s the explanation.

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Here is the weather forecast for the area around Kauffman Stadium.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, 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.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.