After Thursday’s off day, the Chicago Cubs head west with a three-game set against the Seattle Mariners, and the rotation lines up in a way that should give them plenty to like.
Matthew Boyd gets the ball Friday night, and he’ll be looking to put a rough outing behind him. Against the St.
Louis Cardinals, Boyd had trouble with command and with limiting damage on contact. He gave up four homers, including three to Joshua Báez in his historic debut, and he also walked three batters for the second straight start while recording his fewest strikeouts since June 30.
That start raised the obvious question: was it a one-night stumble for a veteran lefty, or a warning sign? Based on what Boyd has done since coming back from injury, the Cubs have plenty of reason to believe it was the former. The sample is big enough now to feel solid about where he fits in this rotation as the playoffs draw closer.
Friday also sets up as a favorable bounce-back spot. Seattle’s offense has been one of the least productive in baseball all season, and the Mariners’ .230 team batting average ranks second-worst in MLB.
The more intriguing development comes Saturday, when David Peterson is back in the rotation. The Cubs shifted the former Mets left-hander to the bullpen to make room for Edward Cabera, a move that looked risky at the time. Cabrera had shown swing-and-miss stuff in rehab, but his regular-season line was ugly, with a 5.10 ERA.
Peterson, meanwhile, had been dealing. Before the move, the ground-ball lefty was 5-1 with a 2.14 ERA across his previous six starts, exactly the kind of profile the Cubs want working in front of their elite defense.
Then the decision backfired almost immediately. Cabrera lasted just 3.2 innings and was tagged for seven earned runs. The strikeout stuff from rehab never showed up, and a blister during the game eventually sent him to the IL.
For now, Peterson looks like the clear favorite to hold that rotation spot the rest of the regular season. If he runs into trouble, Cabrera could come back into the mix or Javier Assad could get another look, but it would take a lot for Craig Counsell to make another change.
Saturday’s matchup also brings a tough test on the other side: the Cubs will be facing the top pitching prospect in baseball.
Then there’s Shota Imanaga on Sunday, and he comes in after bouncing back from his three-homer outing in emphatic fashion. Against the Chicago White Sox, he threw 6.0 innings, allowed only two hits and struck out 10. He still gave up three earned runs, but the overall line was a lot closer to the dominant version of Imanaga the Cubs have leaned on.
His chase rate now sits at 35.5 percent, which ranks in the 92nd percentile, and his walk rate remains a tiny 5.5 percent. The Mariners’ offense offers a nice matchup on paper, too, with only the Angels and Guardians carrying worse slug rates, and Seattle has also struck out the eighth-most times this season.
All told, the Cubs are lined up with a trio on the mound that should give them confidence heading into the series.
In Other News...
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For the Mariners, the more pressing issue is what came after. They have not found a clean way to replace the production Polanco provided, and that hole has been part of the drag on a team that has slipped into a losing record. The front office can feel vindicated about the risk it avoided, but the lineup still has to answer the bigger question of who fills that spot and whether the offense can keep pace without it. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Raleighs Collapse Has Mariners Fans Facing A Brutal Reality
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For Seattle, the issue is bigger than one players numbers, of course, but Raleighs collapse has helped define a lineup that has not produced enough to keep pace in the American League. The Mariners sit below .500 and outside the playoff picture, which makes every quiet night at the plate feel heavier. What happens next for Raleigh and the rest of the offense may determine whether this season is remembered as a temporary stumble or something far more frustrating. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Have Found A Needed Answer Against Lefties
The Mariners are taking a low-risk look at Andy Ibez, a veteran utility option they added on a minor-league contract after his release by the Mets. Ibez has spent six seasons in the majors with multiple clubs, and Seattle is sending him straight into the system with Triple-A Tacoma, where he wasted little time making an impression by going 4 for 8 with two doubles in his first two games.
For a Seattle roster that has been searching for more reliable production against left-handed pitching, Ibez is the sort of depth move that can quietly matter if it keeps carrying over. His versatility gives the club another option to evaluate, and Tacoma will now serve as the proving ground for whether the bat shows enough to push him back into the conversation at the big-league level. [Read more 🡒]