Cubs @ Brewers Series Preview (July 26-28): TV and Game Info, Starting Pitchers, Insights
The Cubs visit division rivals the Brewers this weekend, after which they head into the trade deadline facing a series in St Louis to round out the month. Illness and injury have continued to disrupt the season for the Cubs, hampering the team’s ability to get into sync.
Kyle Hendricks gets the start on Friday against Gio Gonzalez, who recently returned from the IL. The Cubs righty has had a tough month and hasn’t been great on the road, part of which is due to the offense behind him. That trend could very well continue if the bottom of the Cubs’ order doesn’t get it together.
Saturday sees the return of lefty Jon Lester against righty Chase Anderson. Lester missed his last start due to illness, but should be good to go for the weekend. He boasts a career 2.35 ERA against the Brewers despite allowing a .312 batting average — no home runs, though — to member of the current roster.
The series concludes Sunday with José Quintana on the mound against Zach Davies. Quintana has enjoyed good run support recently, so he’s strung together several wins in a row. Davies, a longtime Brewers stalwart, has a 3.15 ERA and 1.195 WHIP in 15 starts against the Cubs.
Game and Broadcast Info
- Friday, July 26 at 7:10 CT on NBC Sports Chicago
- Saturday, July 27 at 6:10 CT on ABC 7
- Sunday, July 28 at 1:10 CT on ABC 7
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | W/L | ERA | FIP | K/BB |
| 7/26 | Kyle Hendricks | 29 | R | 7-8 | 3.41 | 3.80 | 4.13 |
| Gio Gonzalez | 33 | R | 2-1 | 3.60 | 3.36 | 2.45 | |
| 7/27 | Jon Lester | 35 | L | 9-6 | 3.87 | 4.20 | 4.57 |
| Chase Anderson | 31 | R | 5-2 | 3.90 | 4.15 | 2.89 | |
| 7/28 | José Quintana | 30 | L | 8-7 | 4.42 | 4.15 | 2.88 |
| Zach Davies | 26 | R | 8-3 | 3.17 | 4.39 | 2.08 |
What to Watch For
- The Brewers have called up Travis Shaw, who hits well against lefties, to face off against the two anticipated Cubs’ pair of southpaw starters.
- The good news is the Cubs have Javier Báez in the middle infield. The bad news is he can’t quite do both middle infield jobs. Can the Cubs create a lineup that gives him the backup he needs, both in the order and in the field?
- Management has taken some difficult but necessary steps lately, sending down Carl Edwards Jr and Addison Russell and bringing Ian Happ back up.
