CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
Cubs vs. Padres
The Cubs and the Padres face each other seven times this season, wrapping up with this four game set in San Diego … the Cubs took two of the first three games of the season at Wrigley April 25-27 … Chicago has won three of the last four series at Petco Park, with the fourth in that span ending in a split.
SO LONG, SAN DIEGO: The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres today play the final contest of a four-game set at Petco Park, the first series of a three-series 10-game trip (2-1) that will see the Cubs visit San Diego, Anaheim (June 6-8, 3 games) and San Francisco (June 9-11, 3 games) … the club looks to pick up its first series win in a four-game series since September 22-25, 2022 at Pittsburgh (3-1).
In a stretch that began Friday, the Cubs play 15 of 21 games on the road (2-1), 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 14-25 and enters today 5.5 games behind the division-leading Brewers, sitting at 32-27.
ABOUT YESTERDAY: Chicago yesterday beat the Padres 7-1 behind 6.0 innings from Marcus Stroman … Stroman allowed one unearned run on four hits, three walks and six strikeouts for his second-straight outing with no earned runs allowed … Julian Merryweather, Michael Fulmer and Brandon Hughes combined for one hit, one walk and three strikeotus to close out the final 3.0 innings.
Miguel Amaya, recalled from Triple-A Iowa on Saturday, went 3-for-3 with his first career home run and was hit by a pitch.
Yan Gomes (7) and Trey Mancini (4) belted back-to-back homers in the second inning … it was the fifth set of back-to-back home runs for the Cubs this season and the first since April 27, also vs. San Diego (Hosmer & Velazquez).
DH DOMINANCE: Miguel Amaya yesterday went 3-for-3 with a homer, two runs, two RBI and a hit by pitch as the team’s designated hitter … since the Cubs first utilized the DH in 1997 with the start of interleague play, Amaya is just the third Cubs DH to record at least three hits, reach at least four times and homer in the same game … he joins Roosevelt Brown on July 6, 2001, at Detroit (5-for-6, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and Ian Happ on June 12 of last season at the Yankees (3-for-3, 2 R, 3B, HR, RBI, BB).
SUNSHINE AND MERRYWEATHER IN THE FORECAST: Julian Merryweather since April 17 has pitched to a 1.47 ERA (3 ER/18.1 IP) with one win and allowed 16 hits and eight walks with 26 strikeoutsin 19 appearances … in that span, he ranks third in ERA, fifth in strikeout percentage (33.3%) and tied for fifth in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (12.76) among N.L. pitchers (min. 19 G)
SOFT CONTACT: Cubs pitchers’ 36.4% hard-hit rate is the second-lowest percentage in the majors, trailing only San Diego (36.2%) … the staff has also allowed the third-lowest average exit velocity at 88.1 mph, with the Angels and Padres tied for the league lead (88.0 mph).
DANSBY DOES DEFENSE: Dansby Swanson’s 2.6 WAR leads National League shortstops, and is tied with Bo Bichette, trailing only Wander Franco (3.0), for second in the majors, according to FanGraphs … he ranks third in the majors in assists (148) and his seven outs-above-average are tied for second among major league infielders (Ke’Bryan Hayes, PIT, leads with eight … cc: Baseball Savant).
Swanson has gone 41-consecutive games at shortstop since April 20 without committing an error (144 TC) … according to fangraphs, his eight defensive runs saved rank second among major league shortstops (Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco has nine).
DANSBY DOES OFFENSE TOO: Dansby Swanson is batting .276 (61-for-221) with 13 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 32 walks, 26 RBI, a .370 on-base percentage and .434 slugging in 57 games this season … through the first 57 games of each of his major league seasons, Swanson’s OBP, walks and plate appearances (254) rank first, and his 61 hits are second-most (62, 2020) … his total bases (96) are the most since 2020 when he had 103.
(START)ING OFF RIGHT: Cubs starters in their last six games dating to May 29 have pitched to a 1.31 ERA (5 ER/34.1 IP) and allowed 21 hits (.175 opp. avg.) with 10 walks and 25 strikeouts, contributing to a 0.90 WHIP … in the team’s previous 14 games from May 13-28, the starters posted a 6.65 ERA (51 ER/69.0 IP) with a .289 opponent average and 1.45 WHIP.
Cubs pitchers are tied for lead in the N.L. with 26 quality starts … Marcus Stroman picked up his major league-leading 11th quality start yesterday.
ALL ABOARD THE BASES: Chicago’s .330 on-base percentage ranks third in the National League … however, the Northsiders are tied for the second-most left on base in the majors with 428, trailing only Toronto (446).
The Cubs ranks third in the majors with 220 walks … the Dodgers lead with 254 and the Padres rank second with 246.
Ian Happ ranks eighth in OBP (.383) among qualified N.L. hitters with Dansby Swanson at 12th (.370) … in Mike Tauchman’s 15 games since being recalled May 19, he has posted a .438 on-base percentage, which is good for 10thhighest in the majors in that span.
Starting Pitcher – Last Time Out
Kyle received a no-decision May 30 vs. Tampa Bay, marking his first outing allowing one earned run or fewer since June 24, 2022 vs. St. Louis … owns a career 3.25 ERA (71 ER/196.1 IP) against interleague opponents … has received one run of support in both of his first two starts of the season.
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
5/30 TB ND, 2-1 5.0 6 1 1 3 3 75-46 1-1
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 0-1 3.86 2 2 9.1 12 6 4 5 8
Road – – – – – – – – – –
AVG vs. LHB: .364 (8-for-22) / AVG vs. RHB: .267 (4-for-15)
Kyle will make his third start of the 2023 campaign, his first on the road … in his last start at Petco Park, May 9, 2022, tossed 8.2 scoreless innings in the Cubs’ 6-0 win … his 2.61 career ERA against San Diego is his second-lowest vs. any opponent in which he has made at least 10 career starts against (San Francisco – 2.25).
Became the 12th pitcher in Cubs history to pitch for the Cubs in at least 10 season (last Kerry Wood).
Made his season debut May 25 vs. Mets (3 ER/4.1 IP), his first major league start since July 5, 2022.
Made five rehab starts with Triple-A Iowa, going 2-1 with a 5.75 ERA (13 ER/20.1 IP) … allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last three rehab starts, posting a 1.69 ERA (3 ER/16.0 IP) during those outings.
Began the season on the 15-day injured list, as he rehabbed from a capsular tear in his right shoulder that he suffered in July 2022.
SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Padres fall 7-1 to Cubs on Military Sunday, look to salvage a series tie tonight
- Starter Ryan Weathers was unable to get out of the 2nd inning after allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 1 walk and 1 punchout…he allowed 2 home runs in his 1.2 innings, and he was saddled with the loss (now 1-4).
- Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-5, and Alfonso Rivas doubled for the Padres’ sole extra-base hit…the Friar batters went 5-for32 overall and 0-for-6 with RISP.
Bump Day
- Starter Blake Snell made his 4th quality start of the season in his last outing on May 31 @ MIA, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with 3 hits allowed and 3 walks with 7 punchies… it was his 1st outing this year tossing at least 6.0 innings without allowing a run (had 3 such outings in 2022).
- In Snell’s 6 May outings, he posted a 3.82 ERA (14 ER, 33.0 IP) with a .205 opponent average…but he went just 1-2 with 3 no-decisions in the month.
Rookie Tom Cosgrove riding a 12.1 scoreless inning streak to start his career
- Southpaw rookie reliever Tom Cosgrove pitched a scoreless 9th inning last night, and he is just the 2nd Padre to begin their career with 12+ scoreless appearances and at least 12.0 IP, joining Jeremy Fikac in 2001 (12 app., 15.1 IP)…the longest scoreless inn streak of any Padre (min. 10 app) to start their career was Kevin Cameron in ’07 (11 app., 16.1 IP).
Runners in scoring position
- Yesterday, the Friars went 0-for-6 with RISP, and they’ve now gone 93-for-474 with RISP for an MLBworst .196 clip…the Cubs rank T-14th in hits with RISP with their 125 hits (32 more than the Padres so far).
- In the Padres last 6 games, however, they have 15 hits with RISP, batting .283 (15-for-53)…the Padres have won each of their last 5 games when they have more than 1 hit with RISP. Petco Park has welcomed an average of 40,538 fans per game
- The Padres have seen 1,135,050 patrons at Petco Park so far in 2023, not including the 39,244 in the 2 Mexico City series games against the Giants…in their 28 Petco Park games, they’ve averaged 40,538 fans per game, the 2nd-highest home attendance average behind just the Dodgers’ 47,916 fans per game in Chavez Ravine.
Padres ‘pen has lowest ERA in the National League (3.15)
- The Friar bullpen has the 3rd-lowest ERA in the Majors at 3.15, behind just the Guardians (3.06) and Yankees (2.86)…their .215 opponent average also is the lowest in the NL and 2nd to just the Yankees (.214).
- Since May 1st, the Friar ‘pen has a 1.90 ERA and a .195 opponent AVG with 99 strikeouts against 31 walks.
Up Next: Padres host Mariners for brief 2-game series
- Following tonight’s game, the Padres will host the Mariners for a brief 2-game set and then fly to Denver…they’ll enjoy an off day in Denver on Thursday and play a 3-game series in the Mile High City before headed straight back home for a brief 3-game, 4-day roadtrip.
- San Diego will also have an off day on Monday, June 12 to cap the trip before beginning their homestand against the Guardians (3 games from June 13-15) and the Rays (3 games from June 16-18).
STARTING PITCHER – BLAKE SNELL #4
Snell set for 4th career start vs. Cubs
30-year-old left-hander Blake Snell takes the mound for his staff-leading 12th start of the season, the 4th of his career vs. CHC and his 2nd this season vs. CHC…he made 2 scoreless starts vs. the Cubs during his 2017 Cy Young season, combining for 12 scoreless innings…his other start vs. the Cubs came in his 5th start of 2023 campaign at Wrigley Field, when he was tagged in the loss in SD’s 6-0 defeat, allowing 2 runs off 4 hits across 5.0 IP.
Snell makes first scoreless start last Wednesday at MIA
Snell missed out on his first winning decision since May 1 vs. CIN and his 2nd of the season with the Marlins 2-1, walk-off victory in the 9th inning last Wednesday @ loanDepot Park… it was his first scoreless start of the season, and the 20th of his career of 6.0 scoreless innings pitched…it was just the 3rd time he did not receive the winning decision in such a start, and the first itme since April 13, 2019 @ TOR w/ TB…it was his 4th homerless start of the season and his 3rd in his last 4 starts.
Snell’s run support average 4th-fewest in the NL
Snell got 5 runs of support Thursday. May 25 @ WSH, which were the 2nd-most he’s received, behind only the 6 he got in his last winning decision on May 1 vs. CIN…in his 4 combined starts following his most recent win, besides the May 25 outing, he received a combined 4 runs of support in those 4 outings…among all NL hurlers who have made at least 11 starts entering today, his 3.54 run support average (runs scored while he’s in the game) is 4th-fewest…digging deeper, among all qualifying NL pitchers since the start of 2022, his 4.01 RSA is 10th-fewest…the Padres are now 2-9 in his 11 outings, and his 6 losing decisions T-4th most in the Majors.
Quality stretch
Snell posted a streak of 3 consecutive quality starts from May 1-12, T-3rd longest streak of his career and tied for his longest as a Padre (also: Aug 25-Sept 7, 2021)…his longest quality start streak was 6 consecutive starts during his Cy Young 2018 season April 10-May 8.
Call him ‘Swing and Miss Snell’
Snell has caused opponents to swing and miss 30.8% of the time, 8th-highest swing and miss rate among all ML starters and 5th highest in the NL (min. 11 starts)…among all ML pitchers who have made at least 55 starts since 2021, which was Snell’s first season with the Padres, his 32.1 whiff % is T-5th-highest with Carlos Rodon, trailing only Corbin Burnes (35.0%), Shane McClanahan (33.5%), Dylan Cease (32.6%) and Max Scherzer (32.1%).
Limit the free passes
Snell has issued 3+ walks in 8 of his 11 starts so far this year, including 4 such starts in a row from April 6-25…this season, he’s issued 34 BB to the 248 batters he’s faced across 56.0 IP…he has the 4th-highest BB/9 IP ratio (5.46) and BB/BFP (.137) – min. 11 starts…Snell’s lone winning decision came in his only start this season with 0 walks on Mon, May 1 vs. CIN…it was the 12th time in his career he’s issued 0 walks across 6.0+ innings, and he is now 10-0 with a 1.29 ERA in such outings…it was his first career start vs. the Reds, leaving his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, as the only team he is yet to square off against.
