Cubs @ Giants – Series Preview (July 9-11): TV and Game Info, Starting Pitchers, Insights
The Cubs decided to make their series win over the Reds rather exciting, as David Bote literally walked it off in the bottom of the 10th on Sunday. In each game against the Reds, the Cubs had to come from behind. In fact, the Cubs have allowed their opponents to score first in their last 10 wins. It just goes to show that this team does not give up when they are down.
The boys in blue currently have a 51-36 record, 1.5 games behind Milwaukee for the NL Central lead. They start a six-game road trip to end the first half by heading to San Francisco for three games. The Giants just split a four-game series against the Cardinals, winning the last one by a 13-8 score on Sunday.
They currently sit in fourth place in the NL West, but they are only 3.5 games behind the Diamondbacks with a 47-45 record. The Giants have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games, so they’ve been playing pretty much the same as they have all season.
The Cubs will face several familiar names in this series, with Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, and Brandon Crawford still leading the way for the Giants. Andrew McCutchen is there as well, though he’s no longer the MVP-caliber star from his Pittsburgh days.
Johnny Cueto recently returned from 60-day DL and was shelled in his first game back, but his junkballing style always seems to flummox the Cubs. San Francisco will sandwich the veteran starter with a pair of rookie pitchers who will mix things up a little bit, so this series offers a nice contrast in that regard.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Monday, July 9 at 9:15 CT on CSN-Chicago and MLB Network
- Tuesday, July 10 at 9:15 CT on ABC-7
- Wednesday, July 11 at 2:45 CT on CSN-Chicago and MLB Network
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | W/L | ERA | FIP | K/BB |
| 7/9 | Kyle Hendricks | 28 | R | 5-8 | 4.27 | 4.80 | 2.40 |
| Andrew Suárez | 25 | L | 3-5 | 3.92 | 3.56 | 4.80 | |
| 7/10 | Jose Quintana | 29 | L | 7-6 | 4.22 | 4.71 | 1.95 |
| Johnny Cueto | 32 | R | 3-1 | 1.95 | 3.55 | 3.50 | |
| 7/11 | Mike Montgomery | 29 | L | 3-3 | 3.68 | 4.08 | 1.96 |
| Dereck Rodriguez | 26 | R | 3-1 | 3.09 | 3.42 | 3.09 |
What to Watch For
- Andrew Suárez, Monday’s starter, has been nails at home this season and has completely stifled lefties. He’s only allowed one run in each of his last three starts, so the Cubs are going to have to find a way to break up his groove.
- Javy Baez has come up with some big games in California and he once had a big hit against Cueto. Can the newly-minted All-Star add another moment or three to his highlight reel?
- Kris Bryant will make a rehab start Monday in Tennessee and could rejoin the Cubs in San Francisco if all goes well.
- Anthony Rizzo’s power has taken a nosedive over his last 100 plate appearances and he’s not been coming though with men on lately. Getting things turned around ahead of the break would be great for the first baseman.
- Mike Montgomery has looked slightly more human over his last three starts, he’ll be facing a Giants team that sits in the bottom third of the NL in both ISO, wOBA, and OPS against lefties. That could work in Jose Quintana’s favor as well.