CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:

Cubs vs. Angels
The Cubs and the Angels play each other for the first time since 2019 (2-1) and the first time at Los Angeles since 2016 (2-0) … in all, the teams have faced off in seven series since 2004, four at Wrigley Field (6-4) and four at Angel Stadium (5-4) … prior to this set, Chicago was unbeaten in road series against the Angels, including a sweep and a split.

LA LA LAND: The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels tonight wrap up three-game series at Angel Stadium, the second leg of a three-series 10- game trip (2-4) that sees the Cubs visit San Diego (2-2), Anaheim (0-2) and San Francisco (June 9-11, 3 games) … Chicago yesterday fell 6-2 in game two and dropped the series against the Angels … Jameson Taillon threw 5.1 innings and surrendered four runs on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts … Michael Rucker, who was recalled prior to the game, entered in the sixth and threw 2.0 scoreless innings (H, BB, 3 SO) … Trey Mancini recorded his 150th career double and Ian Happ (0-2, 2 BB) and Mike Tauchman (1-3, BB) both reached base twice.

In a stretch that began last Friday, the Cubs play 15 of 21 games on the road (2-4), 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 14-28 and enters today 7.5 games behind the division-leading Brewers, sitting at 34-28.

INTERLEAGUE INTERLUDE: With MLB’s new schedule format for the 2023 season, the Cubs will play every A.L. club this regular season, totaling 46 games … Chicago is 10-10 this season, and 226-229 (.497) all-time against the A.L. since interleague play began in 1997 … the team was 6-14 (.300) in interleague play last season.

Against the A.L. West this season, the Cubs are 7-7.

THROUGH THE FIRST 61: The Cubs have played the first 61 games of the 2023 season … let’s take a look at the first 31 games (15-16) compared to the last 30 (11-19).

2023 AVG OBP SLG R/G BB SO ERA IP ER BB SO

1-31 .270 .341 .436 5.0 108 257 3.56 272.2 108 94 269

32-61 .221 .312 .358 3.6 124 312 4.83 264.1 142 101 242

In the first half, Cubs hitters were hitting .278 (75-for-270) with 28 walks and 106 RBI with RISP, stole 29 bases and stranded 224 runners, compared to a .230 average (54- for-235) with 31 walks and 71 RBI with RISP, 16 stolen bases and 225 left on base in the back end … relievers were pitching to a 3.99 ERA (48 ER/108.1 IP) in games 1-31 and have since posted a 5.08 ERA (61 ER/108.0 IP).

NICO’S PLATE DISCIPLINE: Nico Hoerner has gone 27-straight plate appearances without recording a strikeout, dating to the eighth inning May 31 … his streak is the longest active streak in the majors.

This is his second such streak of the season – April 14-22 he had a then-MLB-leading 42-plate appearance streak without striking out.

PITCHES APLENTY: Cubs hitters have seen 9,583 pitches this season, second-most in the majors behind the Dodgers (9,637), despite having played fewer games than 21 other teams, and lead the majors in pitches per plate appearance at 4.12.

SUNSHINE AND MERRYWEATHER IN THE FORECAST: Julian Merryweather since April 17 has pitched to a 1.37 ERA (3 ER/19.2 IP) with one win and allowed 16 hits and eight walks with 29 strikeouts in 20 appearances … in that span, he ranks fifth in ERA and strikeout percentage (35.4%), and sixth in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (13.27) among N.L. pitchers (min. 20 G).

His current streak of six-straight scoreless outings (5.2 IP) is a career high.

TALKING ABOUT TAUCHMAN: Since Mike Tauchman joined the Cubs May 19, he has reached base safely in 13 of 17 games, including three multi-hit efforts … he is hittitng .295 (13-for-44) with a .429 OBP, one double, six RBI, 10 walks, one sacrifice fly and one sac bunt … among Chicago hitters with at least five games played in that span, Tauchman is first in average, OBP and walk rate (17.5%), and second in OPS (.747)

His 22.0% chase rate is second lowest among Cubs players in that span (min. 5 games), with Seiya Suzuki pacing the team at 15.2%.

WALK, DON’T RUN: Chicago’s starting pitching have given up 94 walks this season, tied for the fourth-fewest free passes by starting staffs in the N.L. and tied for eighth-fewest in the majors … on the other side of the ball, Cubs hitters have the fifth-most walks off starters in the majors with 122.

The Cubs rank third in the majors with 232 total walks … the Dodgers lead with 266 and the Padres rank second with 254.

Ian Happ ranks tied for second in the majors with 45 free passes, behind onlyJuan Soto (56) … with two walks last night, he has tallied multiple walks in three-straight games for the first time in his career.

ALL ABOARD THE BASES: Chicago’s .327 on-base percentage ranks fifth in the National League … however, the Northsiders have the fourth-most left on base in the majors with 451 (Toronto has the most with 464).

Ian Happ ranks sixth in OBP (.395) among qualified N.L. hitters.

DANSBY DOES DEFENSE: Dansby Swanson’s 2.5 WAR leads National League shortstops, trailing Wander Franco (3.2) and Bo Bichette (2.9) for third in the majors, according to FanGraphs … he ranks third in the majors in assists (154) and his nine outs-above-average are tied for the lead among major league infielders ( also Ke’Bryan Hayes, PIT … cc: Baseball Savant).

Swanson has gone 43-consecutive games at shortstop since April 20 without committing an error (151 TC) … according to fangraphs, his nine defensive runs saved are tied for the lead among major league shortstops (also Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco).

Starting Pitcher – #11 LHP Drew Smyly (5-3, 3.56)
Last Time Out
Drew suffered his third loss of the season June 3 in San Diego (3 ER/5.2 IP) … marked the first time he’s suffered a loss in back-to-back starts since taking the loss in five-straight from April 22-May 18, 2022 … has completed at least 5.0 innings in nine of his 12 starts and allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of those outings.

Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
6/3 @SD L, 0-6 5.2 7 3 3 3 4 82-47 0-3, 2 on

2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 2-1 3.52 6 6 30.2 21 12 12 9 32
Road 3-2 3.60 6 6 35.0 35 15 14 8 24
AVG vs. LHB: .322 (19-for-59) / AVG vs. RHB: .199 (37-for-186)

Drew is scheduled to make his 13th start of the season today, his seventh on the road and second vs. San Diego … has made 28 career interleague appearances (20 starts), going 4-7 with a 5.15 ERA (62 ER/108.1 IP), including 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA (4 ER/17.0 IP) in three starts this season … is 0-2 with a 6.97 ERA (8 ER/10.1 IP) in his last two starts after going 5-0 with a 2.13 ERA (12 ER/50.2 IP) in nine starts from April 10-May 27 … opposing batters are hitting .179 (23-for-127) with one home run and 41 strikeouts against his curveball.

Completed his 1000th career inning in the first inning May 28 vs. Cincinnati.

Allowed two-or-fewer runs in nine-straight starts from April 10-May 27, posting a 2.13 ERA (12 ER/50.2 IP) during the run, the fourth-lowest ERA in the majors (min. 9 GS).

April 21 vs. Los Angeles (N.L.) retired the first 21 batters of the game, becoming the first Cub to take a perfect game bid into the eighth inning since José Guzmán (April 6, 1993 vs. Atlanta) … was the first Cub to record a start of 7.0-plus innings with one hit, no runs, no walks and at least 10 strikeouts since Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game (May 6, 1998 vs. Houston).

Went 0-2 with a 6.06 ERA (11 ER/16.1 IP) with a 13:2 SO:BB ratio during Cactus League play.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:

LEADING OFF: Happy Birthday to Angels Senior Director, Communications Adam Chodzko!…Today, the Angels play the third (2-0) of six games on a homestand against the Chicago Cubs (2-0; June 6-8) and Seattle Mariners (June 9-11)…Halos went 3-4 on last road trip against the Chicago White Sox (2-1) and Houston Astros (1-3)…LAA was 5-4 on last homestand against the Minnesota Twins (2-1), Boston Red Sox (3-0) and Miami Marlins (0-3).

APPLE TV+ TOMORROW: Tomorrow’s Angels game vs. Boston will air exclusively on Apple TV+…Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play), Dontrelle Willis (analyst) and Heidi Watney (sideline reporter) will have the call from The Big A..Additional information on how to watch “Friday Night Baseball” is available here.

BRINGING THE HEAT: Ben Joyce had made four appearances for the Angels this season with 68 of his 80 pitches (85%) being thrown at 100+ MPH…In the Statcast era (since 2015), only Shohei Ohtani (70) has thrown more pitches at 100+ MPH for the Angels.

VS. CHICAGO (N.L.): Today is the third (2-0) and final game for the Angels this season against the Cubs… Angels are looking for first ever series sweep against Cubs…LAA has won a season series vs. Cubs for the first time since 2010 and secured first ever series win at The Big A vs. Cubs…The series marks the first meetings between the teams since 2019 and the Cubs first visit to Angel Stadium since the first two games of the 2016 regular season…Halos are 8-11 all-time vs. Cubs (4-5 at Angel Stadium).

LEAGUE LEADER: Shohei Ohtani, leads the Majors in opponent batting average (.175) and ranks third in strikeouts (96).

RECENT ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday the Angels recalled OF Jo Adell from Triple-A Salt Lake…In a corresponding move, OF Hunter Renfroe was placed on the paternity list…Adell leads the Pacific Coast League in home runs (18), ranks third in extra-base hits (30), is sixth in RBI (43), eighth in slugging (.593) and 10th in runs (41).

JUST MET A GUY NAMED BARRIA: Since April 8, Jaime Barria leads the Majors (min. 25 IP) with a 1.02 ERA (35.1 IP – 4 ER)…He has made three starts this season in addition to 11 appearances from Angels bullpen. PLAY FROM AHEAD: Halos have held leads in 50 of 63 games played this year.

THE DRAGON: Over his last seven games, Chris Devenski has tossed 8.2 scoreless innings and has stranded all 12 of his inherited runners…In that span, he’s allowed one hit with no walks and 11 strikeouts.

I’M FEELING ‘22: The Angels active roster features their first two picks from the 2022 Draft: Zach Neto (first round) and Ben Joyce (third round)…The pair of 22-year-olds are the only two players from last year’s MLB Draft class to reach the Majors.

THE MICK: Mickey Moniak is one of three players in the Majors with at least three leadoff HR this year, along with Mookie Betts (6) and Christian Yelich (3)… Halos have won nine of his 11 starts…On May 13 at Cleveland, became the first player in MLB history to make his season debut on his birthday and hit a leadoff home run.

ESTÉVEZ ENDING: This season, Carlos Estévez is pitching to a 1.37 ERA (26.1 IP – 4 ER) and has converted all 15 of his save opportunities (the 15 saves are a new career high)…He is the first Angels pitcher to convert his first 15 save opportunities of a season since Troy Percival had 16 straight successful save opportunities to begin the 2001 season…Only streak longer than Percival’s in Halos history is the Club record 19 consecutive successful save chances by Lee Smith to start the 1995 campaign.

CATCHING ON: This season, Angels catchers are tied for fourth with 10 home runs and rank fifth in the Majors with a .767 OPS.

SINGLE HANDED: Gio Urshela has hit 51 singles this year plus 11 extra-base hits (eight doubles, one triple & two home runs)…Urshela ranks second, behind Toronto’s Bo Bichette (63), for the American League lead in singles…Since May 5, Urshela ranks fourth in the American League with a .337 (33/98) batting average in that span.

NET-OW: Zack Neto has been hit by 11 pitches this season, which is second-most in the Majors…Since 1901, he is tied for the fewest career games played (45) when reaching 11 career HBP (also, Tim Locastro for Dodgers/D-backs from 2017-19).

MY SACRIFICE: Angels have not recorded a sacrifice hit since the penultimate game of the 2022 season (Max Stassi – Oct. 4, 2022 at Oakland)…Current streak of 64 games without a sacrifice hit is the second-longest in franchise history (Angels had a 66-game streak from May 30 – Aug. 13, 2019).

UNEARNED: Angels have allowed 31 unearned runs this season, which are second-most in the Majors (Giants have allowed 33)…Halos have committed 36 fielding errors this season, which is tied for sixth-most in the Majors and tied for second-most in the A.L.

INTERLEAGUE PLAY: LAA owns a 269-229 (.540) all-time Interleague record (8-6 in 2023)…The 269 all-time Interleague wins are third most all time behind Red Sox (298) and Yankees (292).

LATE COMEBACKS: Halos have three wins this season when trailing after eight innings, which matches the Angels total from each of the last two seasons…Last time LAA had more than three wins in a season when trailing after eight frames was 2017 (5).

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP REID DETMERS
0-5, 5.15 ERA
First career appearance vs. Cubs
TODAY’S GAME: Making 11th start of the season today and sixth at home…Made Opening Day roster for second consecutive season…Is in third Major League season with Angels.

• LAST TIME OUT: Took the loss in last start on June 1 at Houston after tossing 5.0 innings and allowing four earned runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts…Yielded one run through first four frames before Astros scored three times in the 5th inning.
• 12K: Matched career high with 12 strikeouts on May 19 vs. Minnesota and carried a no-hitter through 5.2 innings…Previously tallied 12 strikeouts on July 31, 2022 vs. Texas.
• ENDING THE STREAK: Has taken the loss in each of last five decisions, which is longest streak of career… Streak of 10 straight winless starts to begin a season is tied for third-longest in Angels history (Rickey Clark – 12 starts in 1968 and Hector Santiago – 11 starts in 2014).
• STAY UNFAMILIAR: This season, opponents are batting .227 (37/163) the first two times through the order, but are batting .526 (20/38) the third time through the batting order.
• EARLY SUCCESS: Has a 2.70 ERA (30 IP – 9 ER) in the first three innings of games, compared with an 8.71 ERA (20.2 IP – 20 ER) from the fourth inning on…20 of 34 runs allowed this year (59%) have come in 5th and 6th inning.
• GOING OFFSPEED: In 2023, is holding opponents to a .268 (37/138) average against offspeed pitches, including a .185 (5/27) clip on curveballs, but has a .313 (20/64) average against his fastball.
• VS. CHICAGO (N.L.): Today marks first career appearance vs. Cubs.
• INTERLEAGUE PLAY: In five career Interleague games, is 1-4 with a 6.26 ERA (23 IP – 16 ER) and 28 strikeouts… This season, is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA (9.1 IP – 7 ER) in two home starts.
• AT ANGEL STADIUM: In 20 career games at Angel Stadium, is 5-6 with a 3.99 ERA (108.1 IP – 48 ER) and 111 strikeouts…This year, is 0-2 with a 5.33 ERA (25.1 IP – 15 ER) in five home starts…Last season, was 4-3 with a 3.22 ERA (72.2 IP – 26 ER) in 13 home starts, including no-hitter on May 10 vs. Rays (seventh individual no-hitter in Angel Stadium history).