Chicago Cubs vs. Colorado Rockies preview, Saturday 9/14, 7:10 CT

The Cubs look to even up their series against the Rockies.

Saturday notes...

• UNLUCKY THIRTEEN: Last night’s game was the 18th this season in which the Cubs made at least 13 hits. It was just the second that they lost. They had won 15 in a row since a 12-11, 10-inning loss at Arizona on April 16. The Cubs scored at least 10 runs in 10 of the 18 games and before last night had scored at least seven in all but a 5-1 win at St. Louis on July 12. They have averaged 10.17 runs in all 18 games.
• THE NEW GUY: Isaac Paredes is on a five-game hitting streak in which he is batting .529/.546/.588 (9-for-17) with a double, five RBI, three walks and four runs scored.
• THE BUSCH LEAGUE: Michael Busch, last four games: .471/.500/.941 (8-for-17) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and five runs scored.
• DANSBY DOINGS: Dansby Swanson, 11 games in September: .311/.367/.511 (14-for-45) with three doubles, two home runs, five RBI and 13 runs scored.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Rockies lineup:

Jameson Taillon, RHP vs. Kyle Freeland, LHP

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Jameson Taillon, first 12 starts: 2.90 ERA, 1.273 WHIP, 8 HR in 68⅓ innings
Jameson Taillon, next 11 starts: 4.85 ERA, 1.431 WHIP, 12 HR in 65 innings
Jameson Taillon, last two starts: 0.69 ERA, 0.846 WHIP, 0 HR in 13 innings

Well. I certainly hope the more recent Jamo sticks around for a while. He didn’t face the Rockies in April due to a Spring Training injury, but last year he made two starts against them in September. In the Coors Field start he allowed five runs (three earned) in five innings. He’ll have to be better than that tonight.

Kyle Freeland finished seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 and was fourth in NL Cy Young voting in 2018.

Since then, a combination of injury and ineffectiveness has made him ... worse. He’s made 136 starts since 2018 with a 4.96 ERA and 116 home runs in 722 innings. He has been better lately, a 1.96 ERA and 0.972 WHIP over his last four starts.

The Cubs absolutely pounded him Apr. 2 at Wrigley Field — seven runs in 3⅓ innings, including a home run by Seiya Suzuki. Do all of that again, Cubs.

Statcast

Statcast

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. You can find out if Marquee is available via a provider in your area here.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

The 2024 Game Thread procedure will be like last year’s, similar to what we’ve used for Spring Training.

You’ll find the game preview posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.

You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.