Wednesday notes:
- LET’S KEEP THIS ONE THE WAY IT IS: The Cubs, losers of five consecutive games, have not lost at least six in a row since they dropped nine straight July 7-16, 2022. The last three of those were to the Mets at Wrigley Field, the first by 8-0, then by 2-1 in 11 innings and 4-3 in 10 innings in a doubleheader. The Cubs have played 552 games since the last of those nine losses in 2022. They have won 294 and lost 258, a winning percentage of .533. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- MAGIC NUMBER: The Cubs’ magic number to clinch the top wild-card spot over the Padres remained at 4 following the Cubs’ loss and the Padres’ win Tuesday. At the time this preview posted, the Padres are losing to the Brewers in the sixth inning. If that holds up the number would drop to 3. In any case, if the Cubs can go 4-1 in their six remaining games, they’ll host the Wild Card series regardless of what the Padres do. The Cubs will not have the tiebreaker vs. the Padres.
- THE NICO FILES: Nico Hoerner’s three-hit game Tuesday was his third this month. Nico’s last 27 games since Aug. 23: .358/.403/.514 (39-for-109) with nine doubles, a triple, two home runs, 11 RBI, six stolen bases, eight walks and 25 runs scored.
- THIS DAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Brian McRae hits a walkoff home run in the 10th inning as the Cubs defeat the Pirates 3-2 at Wrigley Field. It happened 30 years ago today, Sunday, Sept. 24, 1995.
Cubs lineup:
Mets lineup:
Matthew Boyd, LHP vs. Jonah Tong, RHP
Matthew Boyd had a wonderful first half and made
the NL All-Star team, his first All-Star nod.
Since then he’s been pretty bad. Second half: 11 starts, 4.74 ERA, 1.245 WHIP, K rate down, walk rate up.
The good news, potentially, is that he’s pitched much better at home (2.45 ERA in 14 starts) than on the road (3.90 ERA in 16 starts).
And he did have a good outing vs. the Mets May 10 at Citi Field — two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts. The Cubs lost that game, but it wasn’t Boyd’s fault — there was a bullpen meltdown.
Hopefully he can replicate that start tonight.
Jonah Tong breezed through Double-A this year (20 starts, 1.59 ERA, 162 strikeouts in 102 innings) and made two Triple-A starts (11.2 scoreless innings) before being called up due to injuries in the Mets rotation.
He threw well in his first start, okay in his second, got pounded in his third (six runs in less than an inning vs. the Rangers) and then held the Padres to one unearned run in five innings his last time out.
So, who knows. Tong relies mostly on his four-seamer, as you can see by the chart below. He’s obviously never faced the Cubs or anyone on their active roster.
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Today’s game is on ESPN (full national broadcast, no blackouts).
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin’ Avenue. If you do go there to interact with Mets fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2025 Game Thread procedure will be identical to last year’s.
You’ll find the game preview 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, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.
You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
