It’s a brand new day, and yet another left-hander stands in the way of the Dodgers’ offense, landing in Chicago to face the contending Cubs in what could easily be a playoff preview. On the subject of left-handed pitchers, both teams better be prepared for them, with five of the projected six starters in this matchup being southpaws, starting things off with Justin Wrobleski versus Matthew Boyd.
After enduring a mini-Home Run Derby in his last start, allowing a season-high four long balls to the Mariners, Wrobleski’s goal is to get back on track as quickly as possible. What allowed Wrobleski to remain competitive in that game against Seattle and even in many of his worst outings this season has been the command not to give anybody a free pass. It’ll be strength versus strength with Wrobleski’s NL-leading 1.7 BB/9 going against the offense that walks the most in baseball, the Cubs with a 10.9 percent BB%.
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Having faced plenty of difficulties versus the southpaws in the Red Sox rotation, the Dodgers don’t get a much easier task against Boyd. The veteran southpaw has allowed just two earned runs in his last three starts, covering 20 innings, including seven scoreless in his last appearance.
While not nearly as emotional as a return to Houston once he was traded to the Cubs, Kyle Tucker will play in Wrigley Field for the first time since signing with the Dodgers. Although the numbers are nowhere near as bad as they have been at Dodger Stadium, it’s not like Tucker much enjoyed hitting in Wrigley either, with just a .757 OPS in the Cubs’ home park, well below his career average. Weirdly, though, the numbers have been far better against southpaws for Tucker this season (.771 OPS vs. LHP and .675 vs. RHP).
Monday’s game info
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Ballpark: Wrigley Field, Chicago
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Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
