Chicago Cubs @ Colorado Rockies – Series Preview (August 3-5): TV and Game Info, Starting Pitchers, Insights
As of this past Friday, the core of the Cubs 2016 World Series championship team has been broken up. Only four players from that team are still on the roster: Kyle Hendricks, Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward, and Jake Arrieta. Whether they call it a reset or a rebuild, clearly, the rest of the season it’s not going to be pretty.
Ironically, the Cubs start that ugly stretch of baseball in one of the prettiest stadiums in the league, Coors Field, for three games against the Rockies. Colorado is in a similar position to Chicago and allegedly tried to unload their franchise piece, Trevor Story, but were unable to find a landing spot.
The Rockies are lousy (13-40) on the road, however, they are a very respectable 33-20 in the Mile High City. Their offense is a surprisingly mediocre 18th in runs scored and OPS despite their hitter-friendly surroundings. Less shocking is the 24th ranked pitching staff, right in line with the Coors Field effect.
These might be two bad teams going head to head, but still, any game played in Denver is bound to be entertaining. Either way, the Cubs have to play these games so let’s get to them.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Tuesday, August 3 at 7:40pm CT on Marquee Sports Network
- Wednesday, August 4 at 7:40pm CT on Marquee Sports Network
- Thursday, August 5 at 2:10pm CT on Marquee Sports Network
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 8/3 | Zach Davies | 28 | R | 4.39 | 6-7 | 4.66 | 1.34 |
| Kyle Freeland | 28 | L | 4.52 | 1-6 | 5.05 | 2.42 | |
| 8/4 | Alec Mills | 29 | R | 4.55 | 4-4 | 4.34 | 2.35 |
| Jon Gray | 29 | R | 3.62 | 7-6 | 4.28 | 2.21 | |
| 8/5 | Jake Arrieta | 35 | R | 6.20 | 5-10 | 5.95 | 1.86 |
| TBA |
What to Watch For
- Rafael Ortega hit three home runs on Sunday against the Nationals and had four for the series. Hopefully, he can continue his power display in the thin air of Coors Field.
- Arrieta returned from his hamstring injury and pitched slightly better in a four-inning start in the nation’s capital. Of course, Coors Field has a way of making struggling pitchers look like a hot mess.
- Ian Happ is going to get a lot of playing time after these trades. If he’s ever going to show the Cubs that he still is a valuable piece for the future he’s gonna have to start showing it right now.