Cubs vs Indians – Series Preview (May 22-23): TV and Game Info, Pitching Matchups, Insights
The Cubs return to Wrigley having taken three of four against the Reds to finish a quality 5-2 road trip. While the offense was impressive in Cincinnati, the real story was the starting pitching. Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, and Yu Darvish all had very good starts against the Reds. Now Chicago returns home for a quick five-game home swing, beginning with two against the Indians.
Cleveland has continued to struggle early in 2018, sitting at 22-23 on the season. In the weak AL Central. that is good enough for a one-game lead for first place. The offense has struggled overall, but Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and a healthy Michael Brantley are having huge seasons. The starting rotation has been the Tribe’s strong suit, while the bullpen has had some issues recently.
The Cubs (25-19) are at their high-water mark for the season, a point they have reached several times in 2018. They have an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the .500 mark, something they were unable to do until August last season.
I think it’d be better for everyone involved if they could manage to avoid having that situation repeat itself.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Tuesday, May 22 at 6:05 p.m. CT on ESPN (out of market) and WGN
- Wednesday, May 23 at 7:05 p.m. CT on MLB Network (out of market) and NBC Sports Chicago
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 5/22 | Tyler Chatwood | 28 | R | 3.14 | 3-3 | 4.09 | 1.18 |
| Trevor Bauer | 27 | R | 2.59 | 3-3 | 2.80 | 3.19 | |
| 5/23 | Jon Lester | 34 | L | 2.52 | 4-1 | 4.38 | 2.10 |
| Adam Plutko | 26 | R | 3.68 | 1-0 | 6.82 | N/A |
What To Watch For
- Jon Lester has been the Cubs’ best starter so far in 2018. After a down year in 2017, Jon seems like he’s on a mission to put it behind him.
- Ian Happ got on base a ton on the road trip, hitting .400 with nine walks over the last seven days. When he gets going, Happ can be hotter than anyone in baseball.
- Kris Bryant continues to be very good for a borderline superstar. Some might say a 1.010 OPS is superstar production, but I guess he’ll just have to keep proving to the guys at Yahoo that he’s not a fluke.
- Ben Zobrist got on base six times the last two games in the leadoff spot. Look for him to get more starts there going forward.