CHICAGO – One day after letting their division titles slip away, the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies find themselves facing elimination. Both teams lost division tiebreakers Monday, setting up Tuesday’s winner-take-all Wild Card game at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
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The Rockies are in the Wild Card game for the second consecutive year after losing to Arizona last season, while the Cubs last played in the Wild Card game in 2015, beating Pittsburgh.
"It's the seventh game of the World Series right out of the chute," Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters.
Both teams hope to get their bats going after the offenses fell flat Monday. Anthony Rizzo’s solo shot accounted for the Cubs’ lone run in a 3-1 loss to Milwaukee, while Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story hit back-to-back blasts to get the Rockies on the board in their 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies LH Kyle Freeland (17-7, 2.85 ERA) vs. Cubs LH Jon Lester (18-6, 3.32)
Freeland’s breakout season closed with an incredible run of 11 consecutive quality starts in which the 25-year-old went 8-0 with a 2.18 ERA. Freeland surprisingly pitched better at home than on the road, where he was 7-5 with a 3.23 ERA in 18 starts. That included a loss at Wrigley Field on April 30 in which he allowed three runs over seven innings.
Lester is no stranger to October baseball, as he’s set to make his 22nd postseason start and his second in the Wild Card game. The 34-year-old went 6-1 with a 1.71 ERA over his last eight starts, and he threw six scoreless frames to beat Pittsburgh in his regular-season finale.
Lester is 1-3 with a 2.25 ERA in five career starts against the Rockies, and he allowed two unearned runs over 5 2/3 frames in a no-decision April 30.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Rockies won nine of 10 games prior to Monday’s loss - their fifth straight against the Dodgers.
2. Arenado (38) led the NL in home runs, while Cubs INF Javier Baez (111) led the NL in RBI.
3. Cubs RHP Pedro Strop (hamstring) told reporters he will be available to pitch Tuesday. Strop has not pitched since Sept. 13.
PREDICTION: Rockies 3, Cubs 2