Cubs vs Phillies Series Preview (July 5-8): TV and Game Info, Starting Pitchers, Insights
The Cubs (42-42) likely played themselves out of contention with their disastrous 1-9 road trip that included them no-hitting the Dodgers before dropping nine in a row. Chicago dropped three straight one-run games on the final stop of the trip in a sweep by the Reds.
If the Cubs’ struggling offense is ever going to wake up, it will likely be against a shaky Phillies team that comes to Wrigley for a four-game series starting Monday. While Philadelphia (39-42) has had decent starting pitching, especially from Zack Wheeler, the bullpen is a different story. Phillies relievers have a 4.80 ERA, the fifth-worst in baseball.
Despite all the money tied up in their offense, the Phillies have been disappointing with the bats, ranking 17th in OPS as a team and scoring the 23rd-most runs in the league. Bryce Harper leads the team with a .876 OPS and Rhys Hoskins has 18 home runs to set the power pace.
At this point, the Cubs are going to likely be rebuilding no matter what happens in the next few weeks. That being said, it sure would be nice if they won a game. That might be too much to ask for, but let’s see if they can do it in this series.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Monday, July 5 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee
- Tuesday, July 6 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee
- Wednesday, July 7 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee
- Thursday, July 8 at 7:05pm CT on ESPN and Marquee
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 7/5 | Zach Davies | 28 | R | 4.32 | 5-5 | 4.54 | 1.25 |
| Matt Moore | 32 | L | 5.79 | 0-1 | 5.86 | 1.58 | |
| 7/6 | Jake Arrieta | 35 | R | 5.57 | 5-8 | 5.84 | 1.82 |
| Aaron Nola | 28 | R | 4.44 | 5-5 | 3.47 | 5.36 | |
| 7/7 | Alec Mills | 29 | R | 4.85 | 3-2 | 4.14 | 2.33 |
| Zack Wheeler | 31 | R | 2.05 | 6-4 | 2.28 | 5.56 | |
| 7/8 | Adbert Alzolay | 26 | R | 4.48 | 4-8 | 4.97 | 3.62 |
| Zach Eflin | 27 | R | 4.13 | 3-6 | 3.67 | 6.85 |
What to Watch For
- The Cubs have been outscored 55-21 during their nine-game losing streak.
- Kris Bryant had six hits in the weekend series, so maybe he’s heating back up again.
- Willson Contreras had four hits and drew three walks against the Reds as he appears to be getting better at the plate.
- This may be the final start from Jake Arrieta in a Cubs uniform. It’s unclear how much longer they’ll be able to go with his poor performances on the mound.