The last time the Guardians played at Wrigley Field was almost exactly two years ago, June 30 and July 1-2, 2023.
The second game of that series had its start delayed by rain for two hours, 45 minutes and it didn’t end until almost midnight. The third game had its starting time moved from 1:20 to 4:05 because of rain and then that game was delayed until 6:00 — a total of almost seven and a half hours of rain delays. Cleveland won those two games after the Cubs had taken the first game of the series.
Fortunately, the forecast for the three games this week is much, much better — warm, but dry.
For more on the Guardians, here’s Quincy Wheeler, managing editor of our SB Nation Guardians site Covering The Corner.
Greetings, Cubs fans! When last we met, the Guardians were playing well, on their way to an AL Central division title. Currently, the Guardians are playing quite poorly, hanging around .500 and the third wild card spot in the American League. Here are some things to monitor for the Guardians:
While the overall numbers for the Guardians’ starting rotation are not great, the group has pitched much better of late. You should see Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee and Luis Ortiz this series, all of whom are capable of putting up six good innings of two-run ball — or giving up 3-4 runs in a single inning and being fine outside of that.
The Guardians hitters aside from José Ramirez have been pretty horrific for a good month. Fans (and fanalysts like myself) are clamoring for the team to promote top prospect, Chase DeLauter, to play right field. He was in Iowa with the Triple-A team this past week so it is possible he might get the call to meet them in Chicago… but I doubt it. Instead, you will probably see Nolan Jones in right field. Joneshas become a singles hitter but has been better of late, and Johnathan Rodriguez vs. LHP who will be the worst defensive right fielder you have ever encountered. And I know you have seen Kyle Schwarber in right field, so that’s saying something.
Don’t pitch to Ramirez and your chances are good, right now. Put the ball in play against this defense right now and our pitchers get flustered. Things are very rough in Cleveland right now, so, for us, we want to see some new blood up to play and see our guys show some fight. Hopefully we get a classic game or two as has usually been the case when our respective teams meet. Good luck to you all.
Fun facts
This will be just the seventh regular-season series in which the Cubs have hosted the Guardians since interleague play began in 1997. It will be only the third series consisting of three games. The others all were two games, one of which had a postponement and had to be made up two months later.
The Cubs swept the first three-game series, in 2009. They won the opener in 2023, then lost the next two.
In all regular-season games vs. the Guardians at Wrigley Field, the Cubs are 8-8. At Cleveland, they are 8-12. (Including the 2016 World Series, the Cubs are 9-10 at Wrigley and 11-13 at Cleveland.)
The Cubs are 279-266 vs. all American League teams, a .514 winning percentage. They are .505 vs. National League teams since 1997 (9,477-9,302-1).
(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
Probable pitching matchups
Tuesday: Matthew Boyd, LHP (7-3, 2.65 ERA, 1.102 WHIP, 3.55 FIP) vs. Gavin Williams, RHP (5-3, 3.68 ERA, 1.426 WHIP, 4.63 FIP)
Wednesday: Shōta Imanaga, LHP (4-2, 2.54 ERA, 1.027 WHIP, 4.32 FIP) vs. Tanner Bibee, RHP (4-8, 3.90 ERA, 1.183 WHIP, 4.43 FIP)
Thursday: Cade Horton, RHP (3-2, 4.80 ERA, 1.444 WHIP, 4.56 FIP) vs. Luis Ortiz, RHP (4-9, 4.36 ERA, 1.376 WHIP, 4.14 FIP)
Times & TV channels
Tuesday: 7:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, TBS (full national broadcast, no blackouts). TBS announcers: Brian Anderson and Ron Darling.
Wednesday: 7:05 p.m. CT, ESPN (full national broadcast, no blackouts)
Thursday: 7:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Prediction
I don’t see any reason the Cubs shouldn’t take two of three here. Favorable pitching matchups and the Cubs don’t have to face any lefthanded starters. Beyond that, Cleveland has lost four in a row, three by shutout. Keep that going, Cubs pitchers.
Up next
The Cubs host the Cardinals in a three-game series at Wrigley Field beginning Friday afternoon.