Surprising Phillies Come to Wrigley – Series Preview: May 27-29, 2016; TV Schedule, Pitching Matchups
The Phillies (26-21) turned in the worst record in the National League last year finishing 36 games under .500. There was no real reason to expect them to be much better this year and yet, they are. They’re five games over .500 and only 2 1/2 games back from the Nationals. So, to take this team lightly would be a mistake. In fact, the last time the Phillies came to Wrigley, in July 2015, they swept the Cubs, which included a no-hitter by Cole Hamels.
The Cubs (31-14), on the other hand, still have the best record in the majors and lead the streaking Pirates by 4 1/2 games. They finished the recent road trip with a 4-5 mark and struggled offensively in the losses. The weather is warming in Chicago so hopefully that means that the Cubs offense will likewise heat up in this series.
Game times and broadcast info
- Friday, May 27 at 1:20 PM CDT on CSN
- Saturday, May 28 at 1:20 PM CDT on ABC 7
- Sunday, May 29 at 1:20 PM CDT on WGN
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | K/BB |
| 5/27 | Jon Lester | 32 | L | 2.60 | 4-3 | 3.47 |
| Adam Morgan | 26 | L | 5.61 | 1-2 | 1.67 | |
| 5/28 | Kyle Hendricks | 26 | R | 3.30 | 2-4 | 3.17 |
| Jerad Eickhoff | 25 | R | 3.86 | 2-6 | 3.91 | |
| 5/29 | John Lackey | 37 | R | 3.38 | 4-2 | 4.69 |
| Vince Velasquez | 23 | R | 2.75 | 5-1 | 3.59 |
What to watch for
- The Phillies started off strong, mainly due to their pitching which boasts a 3.72 ERA, good enough for 8th best in the majors. Of course, their offense has been terrible with a fWAR of 1.3, 27th in the majors. This feels like a team that is ready to start their descent but they somehow keep winning games.
- The Cubs offense started the road trip slowly but has stepped up the last two games, scoring 21 runs combined. Jorge Soler has started to pound the ball lately and he’s slashing .286/.412/.571 over his last ten games. We noticed Jorge was starting to pick it up (and wrote about it here) and now it looks like, hopefully, he could be in full on break out mode.
- Jason Heyward is still looking to get on track offensively and we’d love to see it happen in this series. He’s slashing .217/.320/276 this season and that includes batting .189 at Wrigley Field.