In Friday night MLB action, the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets will continue their weekend series from Citi Field. Last night, SP Jose Quintana (6-4) struck out six batters over six scoreless innings during a 5-1 Chicago victory. Ben Zobrist homered and collected three hits for the Cubs, who trail Milwaukee by four games for the NL Central Division lead.
Chicago skipper Joe Maddon will call on right-hander Tyler Chatwood (3-4 4.10 ERA) to make the start on Friday. Control has been a major issue for Chatwood, who has walked a staggering 45 batters in 48 plus innings.
The New York Mets have split their first 54 games and have yet to fall below the .500 mark this season. On Thursday, Brandon Nimmo’s eighth inning home run was the only offense that the Mets could generate. New York had just four hits as a team and trail Atlanta by five games for the NL East Division lead.
The Mets will counter with twenty-eight year old righty Zack Wheeler (2-4 5.40 ERA) in this matchup. New York has lost each of Wheeler’s last five starts and he has given up 20 runs over his last 28 innings of work.
