The Chicago Cubs revisit their Crosstown Cup series on Saturday night, when they will visit the Chicago White Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 pm central. The latest game in the series, on Friday, ended with the White Sox thumping the Cubs by a 10-4 margin. Matt Davidson was 2-4 for the White Sox, with 1 run batted in, and Ryan LaMarre was 3-3 with 3 RBIs.
Reynaldo Lopez went 7 innings, giving up 1 earned run, and striking out 8. Daniel Murphy led the way for the Cubs, going 3-5 with 1 run batted in and 1 run scored. The Cubs are 89-64 on the year, good enough for 1st place in the National League Central division, no thanks to their crosstown foes. They hold a 1 and a half game lead over the Brewers and the Cardinals are 4 and a half games out.
The White Sox are on the other side of the coin. They are 61-92 on the year. They are in fourth place in the American League Central division, which is being dominated by the Indians. The Indians lead the White Sox by 24 and a half games. The Cubs are favored in this matchup, at -205.
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Pitching Matchup
Jon Lester will be on the mound for the Cubs. His record sits at 16-6 so far this season, and he has a 3.43 ERA. He has 142 strikeouts, and the big left-hander will have to get some very talented (Although fairly undisciplined) hitters from the White Sox out. MLB.com had this to say about Lester:
“Lester posted his 14th quality start in his last outing, throwing seven shutout innings against the Reds. He now has a 1.73 ERA in his last six starts. He beat the White Sox on May 12 at Wrigley Field, giving up one run over 5 2/3 innings.”
For the White Sox, Lucas Giolito will be on the mound. The young right-hander has shown some flashes of ace potential even this year, but is coming off of a couple rough outings. According to MLB.com:
“Giolito will start the middle game against the Cubs as he looks to bounce back from a few rough outings of late. He gave up six runs (four earned) in six innings on Sunday at Baltimore, and he has allowed 11 runs over his last 14 1/3 innings.”
Head to Head
One hitter to look out for is Ben Zobrist, who leads the team in batting average. He is hitting .309 on the year and has driven in 55 runs. The leader in RBIs is Javier Baez. It is unclear whether he will play or not, but Jose Abreu, the best hitter in the organization not named Eloy Jimenez, would provide a huge boost for the White Sox.
Cubs top White Sox
The Cubs are clearly the better team. Although the White Sox are a very talented team, they just haven’t been a winning team this year. Wins are the only stat that matters at the end of the day. They had a stellar outing from arguably their best pitcher against the Cubs yesterday, and one from Giolito is possible, but not incredibly likely. The Cubs have Lester on the mound, and he should dispatch the Sox lineup. Bet on the Chicago Cubs at -205.
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