The Yanks Are Coming to Wrigley – Cubs vs Yankees Series Preview

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CUBS VS YANKEES — Anthony Rizzo is coming home! I am so happy that Rizzo was able to find his way off the injured list ahead of this weekend’s Cubs/Yankees matchup at Wrigley Field. I suspect he’s going to get the largest, loudest, and longest standing ovation of any of the returning World Series champion Cubs. And after he gets his well-deserved love, I hope he goes 0-12 in the series, because the Cubs could really use every single win the rest of the way. Sorry, old friend!

I suspect he's going to get the largest, loudest, and longest standing ovation of any of the returning World Series champion Cubs.

As he should.

My favorite Cub of all-time. — Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami)

Although, even sweeping the Yankees this weekend probably won’t be enough. Even if the Cubs had pulled out a series win against the Pirates, the Mets just refuse to lose, and the Braves haven’t slowed down, either. Both teams are now tied four games ahead of the Cubs, which is more like five because of the tie-breaker(s). Moreover, the Mets are about to host the fourth-place Reds in New York, while the Braves host the last-place Blue Jays. All while the Cubs get the very good Yankees.

The season is very likely already over, but this weekend could be the f🔯inal dagger. The Yankees are a really good team and the Cubs are without Justin Steele and Jorge Lopez (among a dozen others), while Shota Imanaga will no𒐪t pitch in this series.

Now, with that said, the❀ offense finally did wake up again on Wednesday, and multiple🐼 guys do seem to be particularly locked in. A few standout performers of late:

Ian Happ: Since August 22, Happ is slashing .375/.426/.589 (183 wRC+), and is headed towards his best overall season in MLB. It’s been an incredible turnaround after a slow start to the year, as he has played above All-Star level since May 26 (148 wRC+, 17th best in MLB, 8th best in the NL)

Pete Crow-Armstrong: And then there’s PCA, who’s overall, full-season offensive production is already up to 91 wRC+ with 2.2 WAR in 327 PA. In other words, he’s already a 4.0+ WAR player over a full year. But he’s been even hotter lately, and the sample is starting to get not so small: Since July 3 (180 PAs), he’s got a 129 wRC+. And since July 27 (132 PAs), it’s all the way up to 157 wRC+. He’s playing like a superstar.

Dansby Swanson: Swanson had a BRUTAL (and frustratingly long) start to the season, but after a scorching that began on July 10 (138 wRC+ over 189 PAs), he’s nearly back up to league average overall with 3.5 WAR. If he finishes out this way, he’ll ultimately deliver another 4.0 WAR season, himself. It’s a shame he didn’t turn it on sooner, because he really could’ve made a meaningful difference during May and June.

Seiya Suzuki: Suzuki is enjoying his typical second-half surge, with a 151 wRC+ over his last 216 plate appearances. I’d guess more time at DH isn’t hurting, either.

And we could go on with a few others. Long story short, the Cubs’ offense has been rocking and rolling for a while now, but will it be enough to tackle the Yankees? I’m not so sure.

On the pitching side, it was nice to get Jordan Wicks back – his first start post IL stint #2 was solid enough, with 5.0 innings of one-run ball on just four hits and no walks. But he also had no strikeouts, and the Yankees (106 wRC+) are a tougher matchup vs lefties than the Nationals (84 wRC+).

Continuing with this weekend’s Cubs’ probables … Javier Assad has delivered three straight solid starts (18.2 IP, 7ER). And Jameson Taillon finally stopped his series of consecutive rough starts with a good one against the Pirates (7.0 IP, 3H, 0ER, 1BB, 3K).

On the other side, I don’t love that Aaron Judge hasn’t homered in nine games, his longest homer-less streak of the season. I know that’s just the gambler’s fallacy, but … it’s Aaron Judge. Meanwhile, Juan Soto since July 10: .303/.416/.670 (200 wRC+).

Cubs vs Yankees – Pitching Probables:

Game 1: Cubs vs Yankees – Friday, September 6 at 1:20 pm CT at Wrigley Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The Score

Cubs: Jordan Wicks, LHP

Yankees: Luis Gil, RHP

Game 2: Cubs vs Yankees – Saturday, September 7 at 1:20 CT at Wrigley Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score

Cubs: Javier Assad, RHP

Yankees: Clarke Schmidt, RHP

Game 3: Cubs vs Yankees – Sunday, September 8 at 1:20 CT at Wrigley Field
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score

Cubs: Jameson Taillon, RHP

Yankees: Gerrit Cole, RHP

Cubs vs Yankees – Key Injuries:

:

Hayden Wesneski, SP

Julian Merryweather, RP

Justin Steele, SP

Jorge Lopez, RP

Nick Madrigal, IF

Ben Brown, RP

Colten Brewer, RP

Yency Almonte, RP

Luke Little, RP

Adbert Alzolay, RP

:

J.T. Brubaker, SP

Lou Trivino, RP

Jonathan Loasiga, RP

Jon Berti, IF/OF

Clarke Schmidt, SP

Cody Poteet, SP

Ian Hamilton, RP