Chicago Cubs preview against Miami Marlins Wild Card Series 1, Wed 9/30, 1:08 CT

You might remember some of the promotional things Chris Bryant did with Red Bull. We’ve covered a number of those promotions. Among them: KB hits baseballs in Chicago River, KB pretends to be a pizza delivery driver, KB teams up with Sluggers to get a new hitting cage.

Why do I tell you this today?

Because Red Bull were kind enough to give me a rooftop ticket for today’s match. It is on this roof, and it is one of the few buildings that the Ricketts family does not own. They limit capacity and follow all CDC mask and social distancing guidelines. I will try tweeting some pictures from there and will have a separate article on my experience there tomorrow.

There’s little chance of an afternoon showering so here’s the local radar for you:

The bigger issue this afternoon will be the strong winds blowing in the right field:

Notes for today:

• Heap top: The Cubs were in first place except for one day of the regular season (after the July 25 matches with a record 1-1) and they held first place every day after playing on July 26 until the end of the season.
• Game 1, not too big: The Cubs hold a 9-16-1 record in all of the first matches of the post-season tour. But, since 2003, the last four times the Cub won the first game of a tour that included several matches, the team has made progress.
• The professor is in his house: Kyle Hendricks has scored 1.98 ERA (30 times earned in 136⅓ round) at 20 starts at Wrigley Field since the start of 2019. This is the third lowest ERA House in major majors in that range, behind Mike Clevinger (1.95) and Hyun Jin Ryo (1.97) . More on Kyle below.
• Get those bats going: The Cubs’ hitters scored a .231 / .321 / .414 slash in 27 games compared to a .210 / .315 / .354 slash in 33 home games. The average household multiplication. 210 and .354 household multiplication were both the lowest in the major currencies.

Here are today’s details.

Cubs assortment:

Marlins assortment:

Kyle Hendricks had a great September: five starts, 37 runs, 1.45 ERA, 0.884 WHIP, four walking rounds and 30 strokes.

He also had an excellent seasonal show at Wrigley Field: Six starts, 43 innings, 1.85 ERA, 0.756 WHIP, only three walks and 34 strikes.

His last debut was against Marlins on May 8, 2019 at Wrigley and he threw eight runs, allowing for five hits and an uninhibited run, no walker and seven strokes. The current members of the Marlins hit 0.220 (18 vs 82) against Kyle without kicks on their home ground.

Sounds like a recipe for victory.

Sandy Alcantara missed a portion of the season, as did a number of Marlins, on the COVID-19 list. He shed well after his comeback, with 3.00 ERs and 1.190 WHIP in seven starts.

He started two matches against the Cubs last year and has won a 6.55 ERA and 1,636 WHIP in 11 total rounds. No current cub has more than eight strokes against him; This is Javier Baez, who is 3 versus 8, and this would be a great time for Javy to break out of the long season slump. Anthony Rizzo confronted him on May 6 at Wrigley.

Today’s game is featured on ABC-7 Chicago (and other ABC subsidiaries nationwide). Broadcasters: John Ciampi, Chipper Jones and Jesse Rogers.

Radio broadcast: 670 result, Sirius XM Radio (click to channel), Cubs Radio branches

Here is the full MLB.com Medical Center for the day.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

Please visit the SB Nation Marlins Fish Strips website. If you go there to interact with Marlins fans, please be respectful and adhere to their individual site rules and make a good representation for Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

Since there are so many other games late this morning and while Cubs are in progress, here are the breakdowns of all the games that start until 3 PM Cairo time this afternoon. For games starting at 4 PM Cairo time or later at that time, a second topic will be posted and you can use this topic to discuss those three games. A Cubs / Marlins summary should be posted within an hour or so after the end of the game.

Here’s all the info you’ll need for the first game of the US Four Wild Card Series this afternoon.

Reds in Braves, 11 a.m. local time

Trevor Bauer, RHP vs. Max Fried, LHP

Television: ESPN. Broadcaster: Matt Fasgersian, Alex Rodriguez, and Buster Olney

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

Astros in twins, at 12 noon CT

Jose Orquidi, RHP vs. Jose Piraeus, RHP

Television: ESPN. Broadcaster: Carl Ravisch, Eduardo Perez and Tim Corjean

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

White Sox in athletics, 2 p.m. pivot time

Dallas Kuchel, LHB vs Chris Bassett, RHB

Television: ESPN. Broadcaster: Dave Fleming and Jessica Mendoza

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

Blue Jays at Rise, 3 pm CT

Hyun Jin Ryo, LHB vs Tyler Glasnow, RHB

Television: TBS. Broadcaster: Rich Waltz, Jimmy Rollins

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

The 2020 Game Thread action will be the same as used in previous years. Here’s how it works.

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

Meanwhile, the StoryStream containing the preview will also be posted on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) Game Series (Day of the Week / Date).” It will contain every thread associated with that particular game, including First Pitch Thread and all overflow strings, plus the summary when posted. The feed will also appear on the first page as a separate post.

You’ll also be able to find the Preview, First Pitch Thread, and all of the overflow strings in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Thread” at the bottom of the first page (you can also find it in the link to this section). StoryStream for each game can also be found in this section.

The Premiere Message Series will be published in five minutes before match time, then Overflow Message Series at one hour, two hours, and 2:45 pm after the scheduled match time.

Discuss among yourselves.