Reds (Lodolo) vs Cubs (Soroka): 8/4/25, 7:05pm

[Rcal10]

55 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

Feels as if it's been this way all season, very rarely have the Cubs missed the opposition' best starters.  Think I read they'll miss Skenes when they face the Pirates, which, I believe, will be the first time the Cubs have missed a Skenes start since he came up.  Not too worried about Littell, appears he doesn't miss many bats and has given up 26 HR in 133 IP, haven't looked at the splits.  The high HR total may be a function of where TB has played homes.

I am also not convinced we will miss Skenes. Right now he pitches the Tuesday before they play the Cubs over the weekend if the 15th. The 5th day would be the 17th. Pirates do have a day off so theoretically Skenes would not pitch that day, the guy before him would. But they have 2 pitchers in their current rotation they can easily skip. So I am not convinced Skenes won’t pitch on the 17th. 

[gflore34]

1 minute ago, Rcal10 said:

I am also not convinced we will miss Skenes. Right now he pitches the Tuesday before they play the Cubs over the weekend if the 15th. The 5th day would be the 17th. Pirates do have a day off so theoretically Skenes would not pitch that day, the guy before him would. But they have 2 pitchers in their current rotation they can easily skip. So I am not convinced Skenes won’t pitch on the 17th. 

I read that somewhere, I'm certain, if at all possible, the Cubs will face Skenes.  They've never missed him, why start now?

[Rcal10]

3 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

I read that somewhere, I'm certain, if at all possible, the Cubs will face Skenes.  They've never missed him, why start now?

I read it too. And if they stick to a 5 man rotation the Cubs will miss him. But they have an off day before the Cubs series. Skenes goes Tuesday. If they stay in a 5 man rotation he won’t go Aunday. But if they keep him on normal rest he could start. 

[Derwood]

Hopefully the Braves can get their shit together and take 2 of 3 from the Brewers

[chibears55]

A somewhat big series for cubs, only because it can put more distance between them and the team they have the current magic number against for clinching a playoff spot. 

It 44 for those who were wondering 😅

[KCCub]

No shocker here -

 

[UMFan83]

15 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Hopefully the Braves can get their shit together and take 2 of 3 from the Brewers

Wow I'm just hoping they get at least 1 from the 1927 Yankees.

[UMFan83]

4 minutes ago, KCCub said:

No shocker here -

 

Is there a meteorological reason for the 2 straight years for the high number of wind blowing in games?  From what I've read, historically it's about 33/33/33 between in, out and cross-wind.  But last year it was like 46/16/38 in favor of blowing in and this year doesn't have easy to compile data that I can find but its gotta be something similar.

We're not in an El Niño or La Niña so it's not that.  Could just be random luck and the wind happens to be blowing out heavily when the Cubs are out of town.  But it's very strange....one year is a blip, 2 years seems like the beginnings of a trend if it continues.

[sweetpeteman]

This is certainly a line up. I was thinking they'd give PCA a night off against the lefty. I would swap Happ and Kelly.

Edited August 4, 2025 by sweetpeteman

[Irrelevant Dude]

As much as I love Wrigley Field, I'm tired of this wind blowing in horsefeathers.  Is there any other ballpark that plays so unfair to hitters on a regular basis?  Maybe it's not so bad on average and gets partially offset by the wacky wind blowing out days, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

[Bertz]

3 minutes ago, sweetpeteman said:

This is certainly a line up. I was thinking they're give PCA a night off against the lefty. I would swap Happ and Kelly.

Carson Kelly is a much better hitter against lefties than Ian Happ.  And if you have a Turner/Kelly/Swanson/Shaw bottom of the order it's pretty easy to neutralize in the late innings with righty relievers.

[chibears55]

3 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Is there a meteorological reason for the 2 straight years for the high number of wind blowing in games?  From what I've read, historically it's about 33/33/33 between in, out and cross-wind.  But last year it was like 46/16/38 in favor of blowing in and this year doesn't have easy to compile data that I can find but its gotta be something similar.

We're not in an El Niño or La Niña so it's not that.  Could just be random luck and the wind happens to be blowing out heavily when the Cubs are out of town.  But it's very strange....one year is a blip, 2 years seems like the beginnings of a trend if it continues.

Not sure but they could be playing less day home games in July and August then before.

Playing more night games then day games has alot to with it as the weather gets cooler at night, the wind shifts more.

 

[UMFan83]

3 minutes ago, sweetpeteman said:

This is certainly a line up. I was thinking they'd give PCA a night off against the lefty. I would swap Happ and Kelly.

A little funny because as someone pointed out, Lodolo is slightly worse against lefties this year, but the Cubs are running out their most RH lineup possible (unless you subbed Berti for Tucker). 

[chibears55]

5 minutes ago, sweetpeteman said:

This is certainly a line up. I was thinking they'd give PCA a night off against the lefty. I would swap Happ and Kelly.

This is what im liking with Castro, he can give everyone a day off every game.

[UMFan83]

Just now, Bertz said:

Carson Kelly is a much better hitter against lefties than Ian Happ.  And if you have a Turner/Kelly/Swanson/Shaw bottom of the order it's pretty easy to neutralize in the late innings with righty relievers.

True but Turner can be subbed with Busch at any point and PCA can hit for Kelly or Shaw (subbing in McGuire or Berti afterwards)

[mul21]

29 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Hopefully the Braves can get their shit together and take 2 of 3 from the Brewers

Don't hold your breath just based on pitching matchups.

[Bertz]

2 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

True but Turner can be subbed with Busch at any point and PCA can hit for Kelly or Shaw (subbing in McGuire or Berti afterwards)

Sure, that feels like a lot of extra effort to get a worse hitter more at bats?

[BKHoo]

Suzuki is going to rake tonight. I can feel it!

[UMFan83]

5 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Sure, that feels like a lot of extra effort to get a worse hitter more at bats?

I was just addressing the idea that this particular lineup leaves us vulnerable to strong RH relievers later in the game.   

[Geographyhater8888]

It’s so nice not seeing Brujan in the lineup during scheduled off days for the regulars.

[chibears55]

2 hours ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

It's time for the Cubs to get Amaya/Assad/Taillon back... having a team at full strength would help quite a bit.  I keep hearing they'll be back in August but hopefully it's not the end of August.  

Maybe Assad will be held up until September when rosters expand, unless they plan on sending Brown down for him to return in August. 

Guessing Rea will go to pen when Taillon returns next week or so with Pomeranz likely DFA or IL.

I dont think theres any other pitcher to move off roster besides Brown and Pomeranz.

[soccer10k]

50 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

As much as I love Wrigley Field, I'm tired of this wind blowing in horsefeathers.  Is there any other ballpark that plays so unfair to hitters on a regular basis?  Maybe it's not so bad on average and gets partially offset by the wacky wind blowing out days, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

San Francisco, particularly at night, is typically tough on hitters, especially when it comes to hitting home runs. This is part of the reason the Giants haven’t had a guy hit 30 home runs in a season since Bonds in 2004.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

58 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

It’s so nice not seeing Brujan in the lineup during scheduled off days for the regulars.

Yep, Castro was a huge get.

[BigSlick]

Well. I like Nico hitting lead off at least.

[Hot Sauce]

2 hours ago, Derwood said:

Hopefully the Braves can get their shit together and take 2 of 3 from the Brewers

Braves haven’t had it together at any one point all season.