Monday night viewing has never been this good as the MLB has served up a pair of blockbuster games that will definitely tickle your baseball fancy. Kicking things off tonight is the National League showdown between the Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs. Following shortly thereafter is the pivotal American League clash between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Houston Astros.
Read on below for a quick breakdown of these two important games and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of Yankees vs. Mets.
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The Miami Marlins extended their winning streak to two games with a thrilling 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Pinch-hitter Derek Dietrich’s RBI triple in the ninth inning helped the Marlins earn a split with the Cards of their four-game series.
The Marlins will look to stretch their unbeaten run even further when they take on the surging Chicago Cubs in the opening game of their three-game set tonight. Starting for Miami this evening is Tom Koehler (8-8, 4.18 ERA). He was superb in his last outing, throwing six innings of shutout ball in the Marlins’ 1-0 victory over the Phillies on Tuesday. Koehler has been in terrific form of late, allowing just one earned run in his last two starts (14.0 innings).
The Chicago Cubs, on the other hand, will counter with Kyle Hendricks (9-7, 2.39 ERA). The 26-year-old has been unstoppable at Wrigley Field this season, going 7-1 with a 1.36 ERA in 11 home games this campaign. Hendricks is coming off his first defeat since June 13, when he allowed three runs over 5.2 innings against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. Even in defeat, Hendricks still showed flashes of brilliance in that ballgame as he struck out 14 White Sox batters. The right-hander has 29 Ks over his last 35 innings.
The Cubs are 6-4 in their last 10 home games against the Marlins.
Pitching for the Blue Jays in this American League matchup is Marcus Stroman (8-4, 4.92 ERA). He gave up four runs over 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts and a walk in a no-decision Tuesday against the San Diego Padres. Toronto still managed to win that game, 7-6. Stroman has surrendered four earned runs or more in eight of his past 13 appearances this season after doing so only twice in his first eight starts.
The Astros, on the other hand, will have Doug Fister as their starting pitcher tonight. The right-hander picked up the loss in his last start against the New York Yankees, allowing six runs on nine hits in just 4.2 innings of action. He owns a 3.73 ERA to go along with a 1.28 WHIP in 2016. The Astros have lost four of their last six games with Fister on the mound.
The Astros are 8-2 in their last 10 home games against the Blue Jays.
