Chicago Cubs (37-25) vs Milwaukee Brewers (39-26)
Chicago Cubs -118; Total: 8.5
The Cubs may trail the Brewers in the NL Central Division standings, but they are 7-1 in their head-to-head matchups this season with the Brewers being shutout in six of those eight matchups. Chicago is sending southpaw José Quintana to the mound tonight. Quintana has yet to allow a run over 13 innings against the Brewers this season. Opposing Quintana will be Brewers righty Júnior Guerra . Guerra held the Cubs to just one earned run over six innings in his only appearance against them this season.
Chicago Cubs
Team Offensive Rankings
Cubs rank 4th in runs scored against right-handed pitching
Cubs rank 19th in home runs against right-handed pitching
Cubs rank 3rd in team batting average against right-handed pitching
Cubs rank 3rd in team OPS against right-handed pitching
Cubs have struck out the 15th most times this season against right-handed pitching
Players to Watch
José Quintana - Quintana takes the mound for the Cubs tonight on a real heater having posted a 2.35 ERA over his last four starts while striking out 29 over 23.0 innings. He has tossed 13 shutout innings this season against the Brewers as well.
Kris Bryant - Bryant is hitting .333 over the last week and is enjoying a solid month of June. Overall this season he has hit .293 with an OPS of .902. In a limited sample size he is 2-for-7 in his career vs Brewers starter Júnior Guerra .
Anthony Rizzo - Rizzo has homered twice over the last week giving him 10 for the season. He is hitting .300 during the month of June. He has struggled against Guerra in the past, going 0-for-9 with two walks when facing him. To his advantage Rizzo does have an OPS of .835 this season against right-handed pitching.
Jason Heyward - Heyward is hitting .333 over the last week and is enjoying a strong month of June which sees him hitting .314 with four doubles and one home run. Like Rizzo, Heyward has struggled vs Guerra in their meetings, going 0-for-8 with a walk. Heyward is handling right-handed pitching this season however, batting .307 with an OPS of .831.
Milwaukee Brewers
Team Offensive Rankings
Brewers rank 23rd in runs scored against left-handed pitching
Brewers rank 26th in home runs against left-handed pitching
Brewers rank 26th in team batting average against left-handed pitching
Brewers rank 23rd in team OPS against left-handed pitching
Brewers have struck out the fewest times in baseball against left-handed pitching
Players to Watch
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Júnior Guerra - Guerra is having a great bounce back season, posting a 2.83 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP while striking out 56 over 60.1 innings. 2017 was disastrous for Guerra which saw him going 1-4 with a 5.12 ERA over 21 games (14 starts). He will have his work cutout for him tonight against a potent Cubs lineup but he did hold the Cubs to one run on three hits over six innings earlier this season.
Lorenzo Cain - Cain is hitting .375 with two doubles and four RBI over the last week. He has a huge sample size against José Quintana having faced him many times as a member of the Royals. In his career Cain is 20-for-68 (.294) with eight doubles and four RBI off Quintana. Cain is hitting .391 with an OPS of 1.133 off southpaws this season over 46 at bats.
Christian Yelich - Yelich is hitting .409 with a double and a home run over the last week. During the month of June he is hitting .323. Yelich is 0-for-3 in his career vs Quintana and against southpaws this season he is hitting just .276 with an OPS of .735
Ryan Braun - Braun is hitting .438 with one double, one triple and two home runs over the last seven days. He has homered three times so far during the month of June. Braun is just 3-for-19 (.158) in his career vs José Quintana . Braun is hitting just .256 but with an OPS of .900 vs southpaws this season.
Jesus Aguilar - Aguilar is in a bit of a slump right now, hitting just .219 with two home runs during the month of June. He is just 2-for-14 in his career vs José Quintana . Aguilar has hit lefties well this season, owning a .306 average with an OPS of 1.086.