MLB on Sling TV: Cubs at Phillies on ESPN2; Regional Action on Fox Sports Networks
Chicago Cubs (Lester 6-3, 2.29) at Philadelphia Phillies (Morgan 1-4, 7.07) 7pm ET on ESPN2
Jon Lester pitched his best game as a Cub in his last outing, going the distance (after giving up a homer on his second pitch of the game), allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, while striking out 10 and walking none against the Dodgers. Was it a weak Dodgers lineup that saw Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Utley taking the day off? One that featured just three guys with an OPS north of .665? Yeah, but it’s an offense still good enough to power a second-place team.
Adam Morgan is in the midst of a brutal four-game losing streak, during which he’s pitched 19 ⅔ innings, given up 21 runs on 29 hits – 6 of them homeruns – and 6 walks, while striking out just 11. Oh, and he’s hit two guys, to boot. Of his 7 starts, in only two has he lasted 6 innings and given up 3 or fewer runs.
Last night the Cubs fell to the Diamondbacks 3-2, as Jake Arrieta’s streak of winning 20 consecutive decisions came to halt, despite him striking out 12 in 5 innings, as he gave up just enough hits in bunches to do in himself. Still, the Cubs are 39-16 and remain comfortably in first place in the NL Central.
The Phillies on Sunday pounded the Brewers 8-1, as Aaron Nola pitched 6 shutout innings, striking out 9 and walking just 2, Jimmy Paredes went 2-for-4 with a 3-run homer, and Odubel Herrera went 4-for-5 with 2 runs scored, to bring the team’s record to 28-29, good enough for fourth place in the NL East, 6 back of the Nationals.
Don’t miss the action on your local FOX Sports Regional Network:
Kansas City Royals (Duffy 1-0, 3.44) at Baltimore Orioles (Wright 2-3, 5.88) 7:05pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City
Los Angeles Angels (Shoemaker 3-6, 5.50) at New York Yankees (Tanaka 3-1, 2.78) 7:05pm ET on FOX Sports West & YES
Toronto Blue Jays (Happ 6-2, 3.06) at Detroit Tigers (Fulmer 5-1, 3.24) 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports Detroit
Houston Astros (Fiers 3-3, 4.84) at Texas Rangers (Lewis 5-0, 3.09) 8:05pm ET on FOX Sports Southwest
Tampa Bay Rays (Archer 3-7, 4.75) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Ray 2-4, 4.74) 9:40pm ET on FOX Sports Arizona & Fox Sports Sun
Atlanta Braves (Perez 2-1, 3.86) at San Diego Padres (Friedrich 2-1, 2.53) 10:10pm ET on FOX Sports San Diego & FOX Sports Southeast
Cleveland Indians (Bauer 3-2, 4.27) at Seattle Mariners (Paxton 0-1, 7.36) 10:10pm ET on SportsTime Ohio
All stats courtesy of ESPN and Baseball Reference