Chicago Cubs vs White Sox – Series Preview (August 15-16): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (61-57) just took two of three games from a very talented Toronto Blue Jays team north of the border and are still right in the middle of that playoff race in both the National League Central and the Wild Card. Now they begin a stretch of games against losing teams, beginning with a two-game set against the crosstown White Sox (47-72) at Wrigley Field Tuesday.
The South Siders’ horrible season has gone even further downhill after a selloff at the trade deadline. Their 4.59 team ERA is 24th in the majors and several of their pitchers have been shipped out. Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito are gone and the Cubs will not see ace Dylan Cease in either game.
It’s even more grim on the offensive side, as the Sox have a .680 team OPS, third worst in MLB. Luis Robert Jr. is by far the best hitter in the lineup with 31 homers and an .889 OPS, but he is currently nursing a finger injury that isn’t bad enough to send him to the injured list.
This is obviously a very bad opponent and the Cubs swept both games on the other side of town last month, but anything can happen in any given game. David Ross‘s squad fell way behind at Guaranteed Rate Field in one of those contests and had to stage a furious rally to pull out a victory, so it would be nice to not fall behind like that in this series.
The North Siders have a chance to gain serious ground if they can take advantage of their schedule over the next two weeks. They have their own fate in their hands and now they really need to seize the opportunity.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Tuesday, August 15 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Wednesday, August 16 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 8/15 | Kyle Hendricks | 33 | R | 3.96 | 4-6 | 4.19 | 4.07 |
| Touki Toussaint | 27 | R | 4.27 | 1-5 | 4.49 | 1.67 | |
| 8/16 | Marcus Stroman | 32 | R | 3.85 | 10-8 | 3.59 | 2.22 |
| Mike Clevinger | 32 | R | 3.55 | 5-5 | 4.59 | 2.13 |
What to Watch For
- Stroman is set to return Wednesday from the injured list. He struggled mightily before the hip injury so hopefully the time off let him reset things.
- Nico Hoerner got on base six times against Toronto with a double and a home run.
- Dansby Swanson had three hits in his last two games after going hitless the first four games of the road trip.
- Cody Bellinger got on five times against the Blue Jays and keeps hitting the ball very hard.