Breaking down this weekend's critical Chicago Cubs-San Francisco Giants series
Although it's only early August, the Chicago Cubs will play their first real “showdown” series in years this weekend.
The defending world champion San Francisco Giants visit Wrigley Field for four games beginning Thursday night. The upstart Cubs are a half a game back of Giants for the second and final wild-card spot.
The two teams will meet again at AT&T Park in San Francisco Aug. 25-27. Let's take a look at a few of the factors that will play into this series:
Good timing:
The Cubs will not have to face Madison Bumgarner. The Giants ace started Wednesday night's series finale in Atlanta. Nevertheless, the Giants still will have some good arms to throw at the Cubs: Chris Heston, Mike Leake, Matt Cain and Jake Peavy.
On top of missing Bumgarner, the Cubs won't see second baseman Joe Panik, who just went on the disabled list with lower-back inflammation. Panik has a line of .309/.374/.443 with 7 homers. His offensive wins above replacement (oWAR) is a solid 3.1.
Former Cubs outfielder Angel Pagan has been hobbled lately with right-knee soreness.
Two of the best:
This series will feature two of baseball's rising young stars in Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo and Giants catcher Buster Posey.
Both of these players are among the National League leaders in several key offensive categories. Posey is third in WAR (5.5) while Rizzo is fifth (4.9).
Posey entered Wednesday with a hitting line of .328/.389/.507 with 16 homers and 75 RBI. Over his previous seven games, he was 8-for-21 with 2 homers and 8 RBI Posey entered Wednesday 1 home run shy of 100 for his career.
Rizzo went into Wednesday's game at Pittsburgh with a line of .293/.401/.534 with 20 homers and 61 RBI. He also had 50 walks and 50 extra-base hits, joining Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Mark Teixeira as the only member of that club in the majors this season.
He's also the first Cubs left-handed hitter to reach 20 homers in three-straight seasons since Leon Durham's four-year run from 1984-87. In the last 55 years, Billy Williams is the only other Cubs left-handed batter to do that, in 13-straight years from 1961-73.
Rookie watch:
Much has been made of the Cubs trotting out rookies Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler and Addison Russell as starters.
The Giants have a pretty good freshman in third baseman Matt Duffy, whom they're touting as a Rookie of the Year candidate.
Duffy went into Wednesday with a line of .309/.346/.465 with 9 homers and 49 RBI. He led NL rookies in batting average and hits (105). Over his previous 20 games entering Wednesday, Duffy went 34-for-89 (. 382) to raise his batting average from .283 to .309.
Bryant is tied with Rizzo for the Cubs' lead in RBI, and his 61 lead NL rookies.
Schwarber's performance at the plate will keep him on the team even when catcher Miguel Montero comes off the DL. The Cubs will find a place for Schwarber to play in the field.
Cubs scouting report
Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field
TV: Comcast SportsNet Thursday and Sunday; WGN Friday; ABC 7 Saturday
Radio: WBBM 780-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jason Hammel (6-5) vs. Chris Heston (11-5) Thursday at 7:05 p.m.; Jon Lester (6-8) vs. Mike Leake (9-6) Friday at 3:05 p.m.; Kyle Hendricks (5-5) vs. Matt Cain (2-2) Saturday at 3:05 p.m.; Jake Arrieta (12-6) vs. Jake Peavy (2-4) Sunday at 1:20 p.m.
At a glance: This begins a stretch of 19 straight days in Chicago for the Cubs, whose stay at Wrigley Field will be interrupted only by a three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field from Aug. 14-16. This series is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs. The Giants got off to a 4-10 start, but they're now battling the Cubs for the second wild-card spot and the Dodgers for the lead in the National League West. Offense carries the Giants even though they entered Wednesday ranked 10th in the NL in homers. They were first in on-base percentage and second in runs scored and batting average. In pitching, the Giants were seventh in ERA. The Cubs were fifth in homers, 11th in batting average, seventh in OBP and fifth in ERA.
Next: Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, Tuesday-Thursday
— Bruce Miles