Chicago Cubs vs New York Mets – Series Preview (June 21–23): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (36-39) finally won a series by taking two of three from the Giants at Wrigley Field. Outside of a two-game set with the White Sox earlier in June, the Cubs had not prevailed in a series May 10-12 against the Pirates. The offense finally started to heat up with 17 total runs over the last three games and that was just enough to overcome continued issues with the bullpen. They now wrap up their homestand with a weekend visit from the Mets (35-38).
New York’s B-team looked like they were dead in the water about 10 days ago, but then Grimace threw out the first pitch and they caught fire. While the purple burger mascot’s role in that hot stretch might be disputed, a seven-game winning streak cannot be as their disappointing lineup finally delivered with 55 runs scored over a 7-1 stretch.
Pete Alonso is starting to come out of his slump the past couple weeks, which is a bad sign for a team he usually torments. J.D. Martinez has been very good in the middle of the lineup so far despite missing spring training and the early part of the regular season while waiting to sign. Overall, the Mets’ .716 team OPS is good enough for 13th best in baseball.
The pitching staff has been the more problematic area in Queens, particularly the starting rotation and its 4.50 ERA. Luis Severino has been the de facto ace so far, but Chicago won’t have to face him this weekend. Closer Edwin Díaz hit a rough patch after Christopher Morel hit a game-winning home run off of him in early May but he’s pitching better after a stint on the injured list.
The Mets and Cubs split a four-game series at Citi Field in early May that featured some very tense finishes and Héctor Neris at the peak of his tightrope walking 9th-inning miracles. The Cubs are going to have to step up their game with New York playing so well right now. Maybe it’s time for the North Siders to go on a similar hot streak, which would certainly be a refreshing change.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, June 21 at 1:20pm CT on MLB Network (out of market only) and Marquee.
- Saturday, June 22 at 1:20pm CT on FS1 and Marquee.
- Sunday, June 23 at 6:10pm CT on ESPN.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 6/21 | Shōta Imanaga | 30 | L | 1.89 | 7-1 | 2.76 | 7.09 |
| José Quintana | 35 | L | 4.98 | 2-5 | 5.16 | 2.00 | |
| 6/22 | Jameson Taillon | 32 | R | 3.08 | 3-3 | 4.01 | 2.69 |
| Tylor Megill | 28 | R | 3.52 | 2–3 | 2.62 | 2.85 | |
| 6/23 | Javier Assad | 26 | R | 2.75 | 4-2 | 3.79 | 2.47 |
| David Peterson | 28 | L | 3.97 | 3-0 | 4.56 | 1.50 |
What to Watch For
- Taillon has allowed just two runs over 12 innings in his last two starts but only got three runs of support.
- Ian Happ has 10 hits, including three home runs, and three walks over his last five games.
- Harrison Bader has hit .286 with eight home runs in 76 career games against the Cubs.
- Michael Busch had five hits against the Giants, three of which went for extra bases.
