2:20 pm
June 19

Marlins @ Cubs

Who will WIN this matchup?

Miami Marlins (30-39)

@ Chicago Cubs (39-31)

 

Starting Pitchers:

Lopez (MIA): 2-4; 3.12 ERA

Arrieta (CHC) 5-7; 5.14 ERA

 

Current odds:

Miami Marlins: (+110)

Chicago Cubs: (-130)

 

• Right-hander Jake Arrieta is slumping. So are his Chicago Cubs. On Saturday afternoon, the Cubs — who have lost four of their past five games — will play host to the Miami Marlins. That slump includes Miami’s 10-2 win in Friday’s opener of this weekend series.

• The slump for Arrieta (5-7, 5.14 ERA) is clear. He is 0-3 with a 7.47 ERA in his past four starts. However, Arrieta is 8-1 with a 3.64 ERA in 12 career starts against the Marlins. He is also stellar at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, posting a 32-17 record with a 2.35 ERA. Arrieta is no longer the dominant pitcher he was when he won the NL’s Cy Young Award in 2015. But, even so, his home ERA this year (3.16) is still significantly better than his road mark (6.51). Arrieta, 35, has not succeeded in proving he is back to his form he showed from 2014 to 2017, when he went a combined 64-29. Since then, he has gone 27-30 with ERAs of 3.96, 4.64, 5.08 and 5.14 so far this year.

• On Saturday, the Cubs hope to get more offense than just Joc Pederson, who homered twice on Friday. Pederson has slugged seven homers this month.

• The Marlins, meanwhile, snapped a four-game losing streak on Friday by hitting three homers, including two by Adam Duvall and a three-run shot from Jon Berti. Duvall, who went 3-for-4 with six RBIs, three runs scored and one walk, hit three homers in a game twice during an eight-game span last year while playing for the Atlanta Braves.

• The Marlins on Saturday will start right-hander Pablo Lopez (2-4, 3.12 ERA), who is coming off his shortest outing of the season. On June 13, he allowed four runs in three innings against the Atlanta Braves. Lopez, 25, is on pace to have the lowest ERA of his four-year major league career. Yet, despite his solid pitching, he has just two wins, and the Marlins are only 6-8 when he starts this year. Against the Cubs, Lopez has made just one career appearance, going 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA. He has never pitched at Wrigley Field, where he is set to start on Saturday.

• Lopez is surely happy to have team leader Miguel Rojas back at shortstop. Rojas went 0-for-5 on Friday, when he made his first appearance since suffering a finger injury on May 27.

• Mattingly, whose team is in last place in the National League East while sitting nine games under .500, is eager for a winning streak. “We have to get going,” Mattingly said. “I know there is a lot of baseball left. But at some point, we have to put together games for a long period of time, and we’re capable.”

4/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Chicago Cubs