Marlins vs. Cubs Series Preview

The Miami Marlins wrap up their road trip as they take on the Chicago Cubs in the weekend series. Does anyone remember what happened the last time the Fish played at Wrigley Field?

This series preview will give you all the details:

• Schedule, Watch, Listen
• Probable Pitchers
• Recent Lineups
• What To Watch For

Schedule, Watch, Listen

Friday, June 18 at 8:05 pm

• TV: Bally Sports Florida, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
• Radio: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710

Saturday, June 19 at 2:20 pm

• TV: Bally Sports Florida
• Radio: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710

Sunday, June 20 at 2:20 pm

• TV: Bally Sports Florida
• Radio: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710

Grid View

• Cody Poteet, Marlins starting pitcher on Friday Photo by Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports
• Zach Davies, Cubs starting pitcher on Friday Photo by David Banks/USA TODAY Sports
• Pablo López, Marlins starting pitcher on Saturday Photo by Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
• Jake Arrieta, Cubs starting pitcher on Saturday Photo by Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports
• Alec Mills, Cubs starting pitcher on Sunday Photo by Matt Marton/USA TODAY Sports

Probable Pitchers

Friday: RHP Cody Poteet vs. RHP Zach Davies

• Poteet: 3.75 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 22.1 K%, 36.4 HardHit% in 24.0 IP
• Davies: 4.01 ERA, 1.470 WHIP, 14.5 K%, 42.1 HardHit% in 67.1 IP

Saturday: RHP Pablo López vs. RHP Jake Arrieta

• López: 3.12 ERA, 1.154 WHIP, 24.5 K%, 32.9 HardHit% in 78.0 IP
• Arrieta: 5.14 ERA, 1.460 WHIP, 18.3 K%, 46.0 HardHit% in 63.0 IP

Sunday: RHP Zach Thompson vs. RHP Alec Mills

• Thompson: 2.25 ERA, 1.125 WHIP, 21.2 K%, 48.0 HardHit% in 28.0 IP
• Mills: 6.11 ERA, 1.536 WHIP, 16.5 K%, 35.6 HardHit% in 28.0 IP

Recent Lineups

FanGraphs.com

What to watch for on...

Friday: Cubs’ “real offensive force” Patrick Wisdom.

• In 2021: 22 G, 19 H, 9 HR, 13 RBI, 7 BB, 24 K, slashing .322/.394/.814.
• Wisdom burst on the scene and is crushing the ball. Pitcher List’s Ben Palmer dove into Wisdom’s impressive start, so check out his article for all the details. The overview is that he is hitting the ball extremely hard (68.6% hard-hit rate) but is striking out a ton (36.4% strikeout rate).

Photo by Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports

Saturday: Marlins face former Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta.

• Admittedly, Arrieta is far from his 2015 award-winning self. Since he left the Cubs in 2018 to join the Phillies then returned to the Cubs this season, Arrieta’s combined statistics are as follows: 415.2 IP in 77 G, 4.48 ERA, 60 HR, 151 BB, 331 K, 1.398 WHIP.
• In his 3 starts this month, Arrieta has struggled mightily. He’s lasted a total of 12.0 innings and allowed 11 earned runs. Opposing hitters are slashing .292/.382/.521 against Arrieta in June. One last thing to note: he doesn’t get hitters to chase very often. (22.1% vs. the league average of 31.0%).

Sunday: Marlins will likely face a moderate opener in Alec Mills and see the Cubs’ bullpen early.

• Only 2 of Mills’ 14 appearances this season have been starts. In those 2 starts, he’s a combined 8.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 6 K.
• Mills doesn’t overpower hitters. His fastball averages 90 miles per hour and doesn’t get many swing-and-misses. The Cubs’ bullpen has been surprisingly good this season. Of their five main bullpen arms, the highest ERA is 2.82. As a whole, they’re limiting home runs and walks and striking out a ton of batters. Closer Craig Kimbrel has returned to his stellar self. He’s given up just 2 earned runs in 28.1 innings (0.64 ERA) and has a league-leading 19 saves. The Marlins need to put runs on the board early because their bullpen has been that good.