Cubs vs Mets Series Preview (April 20-22): TV and Game Info, Starting Pitchers, Insights
The Cubs’ (6-9) early season slide continued with their fourth series loss in a row to the Braves this past weekend at Wrigley. Though the offense finally erupted for 13 runs on Saturday, any hope generated from that outburst was quickly erased when Atlanta hit four home runs against Kyle Hendricks and plated 13 of their on Sunday. Now a contending Mets team heads to Wrigley for three.
New York’s (7-4) strong suit is their pitching, led by perennial Cy Young candidate Jacob deGrom. It’s a team-wide strength in 2021, as they have the fourth lowest ERA (2.93) in baseball and can stifle opponents with every facet of the staff. Postponements for various reasons have limited the Mets to just 11 games this season, so some of those results could change quickly.
Francisco Lindor leads a contact-heavy attack that has lacked power early on. The Metropolitans have just six homers in 11 games — the Cubs hit six on Saturday alone — despite a series at Coors Field. Center fielder Brandon Nimmo has a .447 batting average in a red-hot start.
The Cubs are still scuffling mightily and show no signs of snapping out it, but the odds this poor play is just an aberration keep getting slimmer with each game. Any time they would like to prove the justified doubters wrong would be great, just don’t hold your breath if you believe this is a mirage.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Tuesday, April 20 at 6:40pm CT on ESPN/Marquee
- Wednesday, April 21 at 6:40pm CT on Marquee
- Thursday, April 22 at 6:40pm CT on Marquee
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 4/20 | Jake Arrieta | 35 | R | 3.18 | 2-1 | 3.27 | 2.80 |
| Taijuan Walker | 28 | R | 2.61 | 0-0 | 2.23 | 2.40 | |
| 4/21 | Zach Davies | 28 | R | 10.32 | 1-2 | 5.22 | 0.89 |
| David Peterson | 25 | L | 6.30 | 1-1 | 4.90 | 7.50 | |
| 4/22 | Trevor Williams | 28 | R | 5.02 | 2-1 | 3.17 | 1.86 |
| Joey Lucchesi | 27 | L | 5.40 | 0-1 | 1.29 | 6.00 |
What to Watch For
- Anthony Rizzo found his power stroke this weekend with two homers and has his OPS up to .844.
- Willson Contreras had five hits and three homers against the Braves.
- Zach Davies has allowed 11 runs his last two starts.
- As imposing as deGrom is with his 99+ mph average fastball, perhaps no one else in the game takes more hard-luck losses. He is just 26-20 over the last four seasons despite a 2.03 ERA.
- That imposition won’t matter because deGrom is scared of the Cubs and wants an extra day before his next start. As a result, Lucchesi will take the bump for the final game.