NLDS 2016 Cubs-Giants: What are the pitching matchups?
The Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants are set to face off in one of the best pound-for-pound starting pitching face-offs in NLDS history. Lets have a look at the tale of the tape for the upcoming series.
With the San Francisco Giants securing the Wild Card spot in the National League, the NL Division Series is officially set. It will pit the Giants –a franchise that has won three World Series since 2010— against the Chicago Cubs, who bring the top record in baseball into the postseason.
This year’s Cubs also represent the best shot at breaking the longest and most notorious championship drought in all of sports.
Historical ramifications aside, it will also pit arguably the top two starting rotations in the National League against each other. Both teams have impact arms up and down their staff, and it could be a series that is defined by standout pitching performances.
In Friday’s Game 1, the Cubs will send Jon Lester to the mound. Lester was one of the hottest pitchers in the game throughout the second half of the season, going 9-1 over his last 12 starts, with a 1.46 ERA. Overall, he finished second in the NL in both wins (19) and ERA (2.44), in one of the finest seasons of his career.
The Giants will counter with Johnny Cueto, who had a phenomenal first season in the Bay. Cueto won 18 games in his own right, while working 215 innings and leading the NL in complete games with five.
In Game 2 on Saturday, the Cubs will send yet another Cy Young contender to the hill in the form of Kyle Hendricks. The 26-year-old righty enjoyed a breakout season, leading the National League with a 2.13 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. The Giants will counter with former Cub Jeff Samardzija, who was an All-Star for the team in 2014. Another first-year Giant, Samardzija made 32 starts and finished with a 12-11 record.
The marquee matchup will have to wait for the series to switch back to San Francisco, however. That is when postseason hero Madison Bumgarner will return to the mound and be opposed by 2015 Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta.
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Bumgarner will look to add to his legendary postseason record, which includes not allowing a run over his last 23 postseason innings. On the year, Bumgarner won both of his starts against the Cubs, holding their hitters to a .163 batting average. Opposing him will be Arrieta, who was not as dominant has he was in his incredible 2015 campaign, but still finished with an 18-8 record on the year – including splitting a win and loss against the Giants on the year.
If a Game 4 is necessary, Giants manager Bruce Bochy will send lefty Matt Moore to the mound to oppose the wily veteran John Lackey for the Cubs. Moore came over at the trade deadline from the Tampa Bay Rays and posted a 6-5 record, along with a 4.08 ERA. The hard throwing lefty averaged a strikeout per inning, but has the tendency to be erratic at times as well. He will be making his first postseason appearance.
The same cannot be said for Lackey, who will toe the postseason rubber for the 24th time in his career and for the fourth team. He is one of the better playoff pitchers of his generation as well, winning eight games over 15 series and having a 3.11 October ERA.
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If a decisive Game 5 is needed, it will likely be an all hands on deck situation for both teams, but the most likely outcome is that Lester and Cueto return to the mound for at least the early innings.