CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
Cubs vs. Giants
The Cubs and the Giants this weekend play the first half of the six-game season-series … the teams will also play three games at Wrigley Field Sept. 4-6 … Chicago is looking for its first series win at San Francisco since 2013 … since the Giants moved to California in 1958, the Cubs are 348-377 against San Francisco.
THE CITY BY THE BAY: The Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants today wrap up a three-game set at Oracle Park, the final leg of a three-series 10-game trip (4-5) that sees the Cubs visit San Diego (2-2), Anaheim (0-3) and San Francisco (June 9-11, 3 games) … Chicago last night won game two of the series 4-0, and earned its first road-series win since April 17-19 at Oakland (the Cubs split a four-game series at San Diego June 2-5) … the Cubs are looking for their second sweep of the season (also at Oakland April 17-19).
Matt Mervis (0-for-33) and Christopher Morel (0-for-36) both snapped homerless streaks with solo homers yesterday … surprisingly, both of their last long balls came on May 23 against the Mets.
In a stretch that began June 2, the Cubs play 15 of 21 games on the road (4-5), wrapping up in London April 24-25 “at” St. Louis … eight of those games come against division rivals – six against Pittsburgh (3 at home, 3 on the road) and the two games of the London Series.
After the game on April 21, Chicago was 12-7 and 1.5 games behind the division lead … since, the club is 16-29 and enters today 5.5 games behind the division-leading Pirates, sitting at 33-30.
ONE-HIT WONDER: Kyle Hendricks yesterday at the Giants pitched 7.2 innings before allowing a hit against the Giants … he finished the game with 8.0 innings pitched, allowing just two baserunners via one hit and one walk, with three strikeouts … his 7.2 frames of no-hit work was the longest no-hit bid by any pitcher in the majors this season.
Rookie Miguel Amaya, who caught Hendricks’ gem, was the first Cubs rookie in his debut season to catch a one-hitter since Steve Lake caught Chuck Rainey August 24, 1983. (h/t to Ed Hartig)
The last time a Cubs pitcher tossed a one-hitter against the Giants was August 30, 1992 – Jim Bullinger pitched Chicago to a 3-1 win, with the only hit and run coming off an eighth-inning homer by Kirt Wanwaring … the Cubs last pitched a one-hitter against the Giants in San Francisco was August 22, 1970 behind Ken Holtzman in a 15-0 win – the only hit allowed was an eighth-inning single. (cc: Ed Hartig)
Hendricks’ last outing allowing no more than one hit was was a 6.2-inning outing August 5, 2019.
STELLAR STARTERS: Four major league starters this season have thrown at least 7.2 innings and allowed just one hit (there have not been any no-hitters) in an outing … of those four hurlers, three are Cubs – Kyle Hendricks, 8.0 IP; Marcus Stroman, 9.0 IP; Drew Smyly, 7.2 IP – with Michael Kopech of the White Sox rounding out the group (8.0 IP).
Cubs starters have thrown 29 quality starts this season, tied for the most in the N.L. and tied for sixth-most in the majors … the starting staff’s 3.77 ERA on the season is good for sixth-best in the majors and second-best in the N.L., just decimal points behind the Braves (3.77).
Since May 29 (12 games), Chicago’s starters have pitched to a 2.41 ERA (19 ER/71.0 IP) with a 1.00 WHIP and .188 opponent average against … in that span, their ERA, WHIP and opponent average all rank second in the majors.
Stroman has the second lowest ERA among starters in the N.L. and the seventh-lowest among all major league starters … he is tied for third-most in the majors in innings pitched (85.2).
DEJA VU: The Giants have tagged righty John Brebbia to start again today after he opened the game yesterday … the last time the Cubs faced the same pitcher in consecutive games was September 1 and 6, 2004, facing off against Tony Armas of the Expos … the previous time the Cubs faced the same pitcher in consecutive games on consecutive days? Jack Sanford of the Giants started against the Cubs August 2 and 3, 1963 (thanks to Ed Hartig for this one too!)
OBP MAKES THE DIFFERENCE: Ian Happ’s 126-point difference between his .392 OBP and .266 average is fifth-most in the N.L. and sixth-most in the majors … Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber leads N.L. hitters with a .328 OBP compared to a .175 average, a 153-point difference.
SUNSHINE AND MERRYWEATHER IN THE FORECAST: Julian Merryweather since April 17 has pitched to a 1.25 ERA (3 ER/21.2 IP) with one win and allowed 16 hits and 10 walks with 33 strikeouts in 22 appearances … in that span, he ranks second in ERA, and fourth in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (13.29) and strikeout percentage (35.6%) among N.L. pitchers (min. 22 G).
His current streak of eight-straight scoreless outings (7.2 IP) is a career high.
STINGY IN VICTORY: The Cubs have allowed two or fewer runs in 21 of their last 22 victories dating to April 14 … the lone win in that span in which Chicago allowed more than two runs came in a 10-4 win vs. the Cardinals on May 10.
DANSBY DOES DEFENSE: Dansby Swanson’s 2.3 WAR leads National League shortstops, trailing Wander Franco (3.1) and Bo Bichette (2.8) for third in the majors, according to FanGraphs … he ranks tied for third in the majors in assists (160) and also according to fangraphs, his nine defensive runs saved are tied for the lead among major league shortstops (also Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco).
Swanson has gone 47-consecutive games at shortstop since April 20 without committing an error (159 TC).
Starting Pitcher – #19 RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-2, 4.72)
Last Time Out
Hayden received a no-decision June 6 against the Angels … allowed a season-low two hits (as a starter) … has walked two or fewer batters in eight-straight appearances since April 17 … has allowed two earned runs or fwer in five of his last six appearances since April 27 … has received two or fewer runs of support in four-straight starts.
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
6/6 @LAA ND, 4-7 4.2 2 4 2 1 4 73-46 2-4, 2 on
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 1-1 4.87 5 4 20.1 21 13 11 8 14
Road 1-1 4.61 5 5 27.1 25 16 14 4 22
AVG vs. LHB: .299 (26-for-87) / AVG vs. RHB: .208 (20-for-96)
Hayden will make his 11th appearance of the season (10th start) … has walked only four batters in his last five outings combined and has walked two or fewer in eight-straight appearances since April 17 … owns a career 2.92 ERA (4 ER/12.1 IP) as a reliever, compared to a 3.82 ERA (29 ER/68.1 IP) in 13 career starts.
Was optioned to Triple-A Iowa May 15 … made two starts with the I-Cubs, going 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA (1 ER/9.0 IP), which included 5.0 no-hit innings in game two of a doubleheader May 20 in Indianapolis … was recalled May 30.
Did not walk a batter in 15.0-straight innings from April 27-May 13.
Allowed three runs or fewer in five-straight starts from April 17-May 7, including one run or fewer in four of those outings, posting a 2.22 ERA (7 ER/28.1 IP) during the stretch.
Earned his first win of the season, tossing a career high-tying 7.0 innings, allowing one run while striking out seven April 17 at Oakland.
Went 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA (4 ER/17.0 IP) and 22 strikeouts in five Cactus League starts … did not allow a run in his first 11.2 IP of the spring before surrendering his first runs in his fourth start of Spring Training.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Giants will try to salvage the series with a win in today’s finale…SF has totaled just two runs over the first two games vs. the Cubs…this series marks SF’s shortest homestand of the season as the Giants returned from Colorado on Thursday, and leave for St. Louis postgame today.
NOT A MORNING PERSON: Two comeback wins in Colorado saved a struggling SF offense as of late…since their 10-run explosion on June 6 vs. the Rockies, the Giants have scored just two runs in the first five innings of the game…their combined OPS in the first five innings over their last four games is .410, which is 29th in MLB…in the first two games of this series, SF has just five hits over the first five innings.
BACK AND FORTH: After sweeping the Rockies in three games at Colorado, the Giants are in danger of being swept at home for the first time in 2023…they’ve been swept in two-game series twice, both on the road, the first time coming at DET(April 14-15 with a rain out on April 16), and in Mexico City vs. SD (April 29-30)…the last time SF was swept in a three-game series was at home to LAD from Sept. 16-18, 2022.
17 AGAIN: Yesterday was the 17th-straight game in which the Giants held CHC to five or fewer runs…that streak is the second-longest vs. CHC in Giants franchise history, trailing the 21-straight from June 1908 to May 1909.
HE’S JUST THE OPENER (AGAIN): RHP John Brebbia will try to follow his 2.0 perfect innings yesterday in another start today…this will be his first time starting back-to-back games this season…over the last two seasons, SF is 10-7 when he opens the game…he has a 1.00 ERA (2er, 18.0ip), 15 strikeouts and a 1.00 WHIP in 17 starts…since 2022, with a minimum of 18.0 innings as a starter, only Dodgers rookie RHP Bobby Miller (0.78 ERA) has a better ERA than Brebbia’s 1.00 mark.
PENMANSHIP: SF’s bullpen has been on a great run since May 2, ranking second in MLB with a 2.33 ERA, second with a 28% strikeout rate and third with a .258 BABIP (SIS).
HOME COOKING OR TAKEOUT?: SF enters today having won 15 of its last 24 games (.625) dating back to May 15, which is tied for third in the NL…the majority of SF’s wins have come on the road, as the Giants have lost six of their last seven home games, and three straight series (also to BAL and PIT)
THAT’S A LOT OF GAMES: IF Brandon Crawford played his 1,600th MLB game yesterday…he ranks fourth in the SF-era in games played for the Giants…Crawford also ranks ninth in the SF-era with 651 runs, seventh with 721 RBI and fifth in hit-by-pitches (54)
K-AMILO:RHP Camilo Doval has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since the start of May…the reigning NL Reliever of the Month has a 1.08 ERA (2er, 16.2ip), 26 strikeouts, a 0.66 WHIP and a .121 opposing batting average since May 2 while going a perfect 13-for-13 in save opportunities…overall, Doval’s 16 saves rank fifth in MLB and first in the NL…his .172 XBA is in the top 4% of MLB and his 36.6% strikeout rate is in the top 3% of MLB.
TAYLOR MADE: After some early season hiccups, LHP Taylor Rogers has settled in nicely at the back of SF’s bullpen…the southpaw is 2-0-1 with a 0.50 ERA (1er, 18.0ip), 26 strikeouts, 0.78 WHIP and .148 opposing batting average since April 18 (19 games)…his 0.50 ERA is third-best in the Majors over that span (min. 18ip) and best among left-handers…the next closest ERA from a lefty in that span is DET LHP Eduardo
Rodríguez (1.39).
KEEP THEM GROUNDED: SF pitchers lead MLB with a 49.1% ground ball rate…the next closest team is TBR with a 46.1% rate…when they do allow the ball in the air, however, they are getting punished with a 14.3% HR/FB, which is tied with NYM for second in MLB and first in the NL (TOR leads with 14.7%)… offensively, the Cubs have a 43.4% ground ball rate (11th), a 35.4% fly ball rate (25th) and a 13.0% HR/FB (T-11th).
