Chicago's chasing its best baseball of the year into the desert, and Arizona's just trying to keep its wild-card hopes intact while half its roster sits in a training room.
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TUE AUG 25 · 6:40 PM MST
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Cubs
Diamondbacks
Neither club has a starter locked in for this one yet, which fits the theme: both rotations are running thin right now. The Cubs are still without Justin Steele, just lost Edward Cabrera to a blister issue on his pitching hand, and Kevin Gausman is day-to-day after a cramp cut short his last outing. Arizona's piecing things together around Zac Gallen, Corbin Burnes and Ryne Nelson, all still working back from arm issues, with Michael Soroka only recently back in the mix.
The bigger hit for Arizona might be in the lineup, not the rotation. Ketel Marte just landed on the injured list with a left knee issue that had reportedly been building for more than a week before an MRI forced the move, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is still working his way back from an adductor strain down in Triple-A. That's a lot of thump missing from the middle of a Diamondbacks order that's fighting for a wild-card spot with no margin for a cold stretch.
Chicago, meanwhile, has quietly been one of the better offenses in baseball for two months running, and that's kept the Cubs firmly in the wild-card field even with Milwaukee still out front in the Central. Whatever each roster looks like by the time first pitch actually happens, both sides have real reason to treat this like a game that matters.
Chicago Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks
Both teams still have business to handle before they get here. Chicago has three games at Seattle first, and Arizona hosts Cincinnati for three — the kind of stretch that can shuffle a bullpen or open up a lineup spot by the time this one actually starts Monday at 6:40 PM MT.
Chicago Cubs
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
Arizona Diamondbacks
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
Chicago's still chasing last year's playoff disappointment and knows a soft week against a shorthanded Arizona club is exactly the kind of series a wild-card team needs to bank. The Diamondbacks, for their part, are trying to hold a playoff spot together with a MASH-unit rotation and now a lineup missing its best hitter — this series won't decide their season, but it's not one they can afford to punt either.
