Chicago Cubs @ Colorado Rockies – Series Preview (September 13-15): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (75-71) are once again getting better results on the road after struggling a bit at Wrigley Field. This time, Chicago took two of three from the high-flying Dodgers in Los Angeles. The key to the series was the offense roaring back to life with 24 runs scored after scoring just 17 total in their previous six home games.
The North Siders hope to keep the bats warm as they travel to the Mile High City for three against the Rockies at the hitters’ paradise that is Coors Field. Colorado (55-92) has had another very difficult season and is well on the way to 100 losses for a second consecutive year.
The Rox offense hasn’t been great with a team OPS of .700 that is the 19th-worst in baseball. Young outfielder Brenton Doyle is having a good year with 22 homers and his excellent defense in center pushes him to 3.9 WAR. Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar also has 22 dingers plus very valuable glove work.
One player the Cubs won’t see is Kris Bryant, as the 2016 hero has only played 37 games this season while battling persistent back issues. With KB likely done for the year, he will only have played in 159 of a possible 486 contests in his three seasons on the Rockies. It’s really just a complete bummer that he has had such horrible injury luck.
Colorado’s pitching staff has been a total disaster with the worst team ERA in baseball at 5.50. Having to play home games at Coors makes things more difficult, but their numbers are actually worse on the road. They don’t have an ace, an elite closer, or anything that stands out pitching-wise.
The Cubs swept the Rockies in the first series of the season at Wrigley in April and the Rox are worse now than they were at that point. As always, games in Denver are unpredictable and weird stuff always seems to go down when the Cubs are involved. This is a chance for Craig Counsell‘s squad to pick up some victories and try to keep faint playoff hopes alive, so let’s see if they can do it.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, September 13 at 7:40pm CT on Marquee.
- Saturday, September 14 at 7:10pm CT on Marquee.
- Sunday, September 15 at 2:10pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 9/13 | Javier Assad | 27 | R | 3.14 | 7-5 | 4.46 | 1.98 |
| Austin Gomber | 30 | L | 4.50 | 5-10 | 4.79 | 3.00 | |
| 9/14 | Jameson Taillon | 32 | R | 3.57 | 10-8 | 3.98 | 4.04 |
| Kyle Freeland | 31 | L | 4.97 | 5-7 | 4.27 | 3.17 | |
| 9/15 | Kyle Hendricks | 34 | R | 6.51 | 3-11 | 5.21 | 2.05 |
| Bradley Blalock | 23 | R | 5.87 | 1-3 | 5.60 | 1.05 |
What to Watch For
- Isaac Paredes is showing signs of life at the plate with five hits and three walks against the Dodgers.
- Cody Bellinger reached base eight times against his former team with two home runs.
- Taillon has allowed just one run in his last 13 innings pitched.
- Seiya Suzuki got on base seven times in Los Angeles and had a homer.