The Chicago Cubs will host the
Colorado Rockies in the National League Wild Card Game at Wrigley Field on
Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN will televise the
contest
Jay Bruce
Jersey , with Baseball Tonight beginning at 7 p.m.This matchup will be a
battle of southpawsbetween the Cubs' Jon Lester and the Rockies' Kyle Freeland,
per Kyle Newman of theDenver Post. Lester is 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA and 149
strikeouts in 181.2 innings, while Freeland is 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA and 173
strikeouts in 202.1 innings.Lester has induced an inordinate amount of soft
contact throughout his career, and this year is no exception: Per FanGraphs,
hishard-hit rate is just 31.9 percent. He gives up just1.19 home runs per nine
innings.The crafty 34-year-old has five pitches in his repertoire: a four-seam
fastball, cutter, sinker, changeupand curveball.Freeland is an extreme
ground-ball pitcher who induces them at a 46.0 percent rate, per FanGraphs. Like
Lester, he doesn't get hit too hard (31.6 percent) or give up many home runs
(0.76 per nine innings).The 25-year-old strikes out batters at a 20.5 percent
clip. He throws a four-seam fastball, cutter, sinker, changeup and slider. Of
note, he would be pitching on three days' rest, as Freeland started (and won) on
Friday against the Washington Nationals after six innings of two-run ball.
Lester has an extra day of rest, having made his last appearance Thursday (six
scoreless innings versus the Pittsburgh Pirates).The two men faced off at
Wrigley once this season, with the Cubs winning 3-2. Lester went 5.2 innings
with two runs (neither earned), five punchouts and three walks, while Freeland
tossed seven frames of three-run ball with five strikeouts.It could have been
worse for both sides. Lester struck out Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta with the
bases loaded in the fifth to wiggle out of a
jam
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and Freeland limited the damage to one run in the sixth after a leadoff triple
from Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant.The lineups will be a little different this
time around. Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu (15 home runs, 62 RBI, .278
batting average in 127 games) did not play, nor did Colorado outfielder David
Dahl (16 home runs, 48 RBI, .276 batting average in 76 games).For the Cubs,
second baseman Daniel Murphy (six home runs, 13 RBI, .299 batting average in 34
games with Chicago) was still a member of the Washington Nationals at the
time.Freeland arguably had a better year than Lester, but the latter has started
21 postseason games and been part of three World Series champions. He also more
than held his own en route to an All-Star season. The starting pitching matchup
looks like a slight edge toward the Cubs simply because Lester has an extra day
of rest.The Cubs would seem to have four other advantages, though.First, they
are home, where they've gone 51-31 this season. Chicago has the added benefit of
staying put, as the Cubs have been in town since starting a regular-season
closing homestand on Tuesday.Meanwhile, the Rockies are going to be in three
time zones in three days as they go from Denver to Los Angeles to Chicago.
Colorado closed the regular season with a win over the Washington Nationals on
Sunday before losing in the NL West tiebreaker Monday. Now it has to turn around
in 24 hours and play a game in Chicago Tuesday.Colorado is respectable on the
road (44-38) but that travel schedule may be tough to overcome.Second, as Newman
noted, the Cubs will call on left-hander Cole Hamels if needed. The veteran has
been fantastic for Chicago this year, going 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA and 74
strikeouts in 76.1 innings. That's a big trump card in favor of the Cubs.Third,
the Cubs bullpen has performed far better than the Rockies' this
year
David
Wright Jersey , with Chicago's relievers sporting a 3.34 ERA (second-best
in MLB) and the Rockies finishing with a 4.63 (26th).Lastly, Chicago simply has
more postseason experience, having made the NLCS in 2015 and 2017 and winning
the World Series in 2016. Granted, not every member of the team has been with
the Cubs through that entire stretch, but some newer members of the team have
played in October (Murphy for the Mets and Washington Nationals, for
instance).Colorado played in the NL Wild Card Game last year (losing 11-8 to the
Arizona Diamondbacks) after missing the postseason every year since 2010.The
infamous Wrigley Field wind, which can blow home runs out at a record pace or
keep towering fly balls in the outfield based on the direction, shouldn't be a
factor Tuesday. Per Windfinder, the wind should be blowing anywhere from a
harmless three to six mph, with game temperatures at around 59
degrees.Ultimately, this looks like a Cubs victory, but look for Freeland to
keep Chicago at bay into the middle innings. Expect Chicago to pull away late in
a low-scoring win.Prediction: Cubs 5, Rockies 2 BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Adam
Frazier is getting to be a regular starter this year as the Pittsburgh Pirates‘
second baseman.Frazier spent the first three seasons of his career as a utility
player, making 95 starts at second, 61 in left, 20 in right, five in center,
three at third base and one at shortstop.“I think it helps anybody coming to the
yard every day and knowing where you’re going to
be
http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-tim-tebow-jersey ,”
Frazier said. “My goal is to play as good as I can and be ready each and every
day, give the team all I’ve got and win games.”He takes over at second from
two-time All-Star Josh Harrison, who left as a free agent. Frazier is expected
to hit leadoff for the Pirates, who were 19th among the 30 teams in runs last
season with a 4.3 average.Frazier has a .280 career average with 18 home runs in
300 games.“I’d like to see us keep his legs underneath him, keep him strong,
keep him fresh because we can use the offense, especially at the top of the
order, where he has had most of his major league at-bats,” Pittsburgh manager
Clint Hurdle said.Frazier had a .237 batting average and three homers in 55
games for the Pirates last year when he demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis last
June. He returned to Pittsburgh six week later and hit .306 with seven homers in
57 games.“I worked on a few things, being more aggressive with my hands and my
feet, so when I came back up, I felt pretty good,” Frazier said. “I just
continued to work, and things fell into place.”Frazier certainly made an
impression on Hurdle.“He came back and put a foot down,” Hurdle said. “It was
fun to watch. I think he found something that works, and he can replicate
it.”Notes: The Pirates held their final workout at the Pirate City training
facility and will move their camp five miles to their spring training ballpark
for the exhibition season. The Pirates open Saturday against Philadelphia in
Clearwater. LHP Steven Brault is scheduled to start for Pittsburgh. . County
music singer Garth Brooks’ stay in camp ended Friday. He had been working out
with the Pirates since pitchers and catchers reported Feb. 11. . C Elias Diaz
missed his third straight workout because of illness.
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