Chicago Cubs vs Houston Astros – Series Preview (May 22-24): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (29-21) were steamrolled by the rival Brewers at Wrigley Field in a three-game sweep that knocked them out of first place in the NL Central. Chicago seemingly could not do anything right in the series, having issues with hitting, pitching, and fielding. They got an off day on Thursday to try and regroup before beginning a weekend set with the Astros starting Friday.
Houston (20-31) is a long way from the dominant team that won a pair of World Series and made it to the ultimate series four times over five years beginning in 2017. The Astros missed the playoffs in 2025 for the first time since 2014 and are currently 11 games under .500.
Offensively, they have been pretty decent this year with a .726 team OPS, which is 10th best in baseball. A huge part of that is slugging DH Yordan Álvarez, who is off to a massive start with 15 home runs and a 1.017 OPS. First baseman Christian Walker has been productive as well with 11 dingers.
Houston’s pitching has been a complete disaster in 2026, with a 5.34 team ERA that is the worst in baseball. The bright spot in the rotation has been Spencer Arrighetti, who has a 1.50 ERA in 36 innings. The bullpen is an absolute tire fire and has lost them numerous games with a 5.72 ERA.
The Cubs need to get back on track after this recent rough patch before their snowball of futility gets too far down the mountain to stop. This is a good chance for the bats to heat up against a lousy Astros pitching staff. It would definitely make the Wrigley faithful feel better to see some runs on the board.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, May 22 at 1:20pm CT on Apple TV+.
- Saturday, May 23 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
- Sunday, May 24 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 5/22 | Jameson Taillon | 34 | R | 4.97 | 2-3 | 6.68 | 2.47 |
| Spencer Arrighetti | 26 | R | 1.50 | 5–1 | 3.61 | 1.67 | |
| 5/23 | Colin Rea | 35 | R | 4.98 | 4-2 | 4.09 | 2.86 |
| Kai-Wei Teng | 27 | R | 2.61 | 2-3 | 3.79 | 2.50 | |
| 5/24 | Shōta Imanaga | 32 | L | 3.38 | 4-4 | 3.40 | 3.81 |
| Peter Lambert | 29 | R | 3.57 | 2-4 | 3.31 | 2.50 |
What to Watch For
- Imanaga gave up eight runs in his last outing after great work most of the season.
- The Cubs mustered a grand total of five runs in three games against the Brewers.
- Nico Hoerner showed some life against Milwaukee with three hits and three walks.
