Cubs vs. Marlins Series Preview (May 7 – 9): TV and Game Info, Pitching Matchups, Insights
After a series sweep at the hands of the Cardinals, the Cubs return home on a season-worst five game losing streak. The Cubs sit at 16-15 on the season and have fallen to fourth place in the division, 3.5 games back of the Cardinals. The offense has been struggling to score runs lately and has averaged a meager 2.45 runs per game over the last 11 games.
Cubs pitchers have also struggled with surrendering walks recently, as they gave up a total of 23 free passes over the three games against the Cardinals. These are two areas of concern that will have to improve as they look to turn things around against the Marlins.
Miami comes to town with a 13-20 record, having won 5 of 7 in back-to-back series against the Dodgers and Rockies. They currently sit in last place in the National League East, but have won four straight series and enter the series with some momentum that the Cubs will have to be aware of.
The Cubs will want to limit the damage done by Starlin Castro, who is batting .444 with seven RBI over the last week. J.T. Realmuto is another impact player, as he is hitting .328 on the season. Both are the driving forces in the Marlins lineup, and slowing them down could be key to slowing down their offense.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Monday, May 7 at 7:05 CT on NBC Sports Chicago
- Tuesday, May 8 at 7:05 CT on NBC Sports Chicago
- Wednesday, May 9 at 1:20 CT on NBC Sports Chicago
Starting Pitchers (2018 Stats)
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | E.R.A. |
| 5/7 | Kyle Hendricks | 28 | R | 3.19 |
| Jarlin Garcia | 25 | L | 1.09 | |
| 5/8 | Yu Darvish | 31 | R | 6.00 |
| Jose Urena | 26 | R | 4,28 | |
| 5/9 | Jose Quintana | 29 | L | 4.99 |
| Wei-Yin Chen | 32 | L | 4.82 |
What to Watch For
- Scoring only 2.45 runs/game is not going to be enough going forward. The Cubs offense will need to start putting runs on the board in order to compete in the NL Central. They should have some opportunities against the Miami starting rotation, which has struggled outside of Jarlin Garcia (1.09 ERA)
- Anthony Rizzo is starting to see the ball a little better with three home runs over the last week, but is still only hitting .177 on the season. A player of his caliber will get it together soon, hopefully against the Marlins.
- Yu Darvish has struggled through the first month of his Cubs career (6.00 ERA), but let’s not forget that Jon Lester also struggled in his first month with the Cubs back in 2015. Give it time instead of hitting the panic button quite yet.