Chicago Cubs @ Toronto Blue Jays – Series Preview (August 29-31): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (55-73) dropped two of three to the Brewers this weekend after winning the first game of the series, with the bullpen having serious issues in the two losses after looking very good recently. Now the team, excluding a couple of unvaccinated players, heads north for a three-game series with the Blue Jays.
Toronto (68-58) is currently in a playoff position on the strength of their young hitting talent. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the way with 26 home runs and an .843 OPS. George Springer (.839 OPS) and catcher Alejandro Kirk (3.6 WAR) are also having huge years.
Alek Manoah has been the Jays’ best starter this season, but the Cubs will miss him this series. Kevin Gausman has been very good as the number two starter while José Berrīos has been disappointing. The relief corps has had issues at times but Jordan Romano has been effective as closer.
Chicago is right in the middle of a stretch of 18 consecutive games against teams with winning records and they have mostly held their own, going 6-6 so far. The pressure on the overworked pitching staff is starting to grow, however, and they’ll need to rely on some prospects down the stretch. Things could quickly get out of hand with the slugging Blue Jays, so hopefully the Cubs can avoid that fate and take home the series.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Monday, August 29 at 6:07pm CT on Marquee Sports Network.
- Tuesday, August 30 at 6:07pm CT on Marquee Sports Network.
- Wednesday, August 31 at 6:07pm CT on MLB Network (out-of-market only) and Marquee Sports Network.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 8/29 | Javier Assad | 25 | R | 0.00 | 0-0 | 4.63 | 0.75 |
| José Berríos | 28 | R | 5.28 | 9-5 | 4.84 | 3.73 | |
| 8/30 | Marcus Stroman | 31 | R | 4.10 | 3-6 | 3.84 | 3.11 |
| Kevin Gausman | 31 | R | 3.15 | 9-9 | 2.01 | 7.05 | |
| 8/31 | TBA | ||||||
| Mitch White | 27 | R | 4.24 | 1-4 | 3.34 | 2.14 |
What to Watch For
- Promising pitching prospects Brendon Little and Jeremiah Estrada are getting a brief call-up to replace unvaccinated Justin Steele and Adrian Sampson in Canada.
- Seiya Suzuki has reached base nine times in his last four games.
- Nico Hoerner keeps making big plays on both defense and offense.
- The Cubs have not played in Toronto since 2014.