The Cubs continue their six game road trip tonight in Colorado when they play the first of four games against the Rockies. Justin Steele will take the mound for the Cubs and look to build off his great start from last Saturday and Kyle Freeman will make his second start of the year after losing in his first outing on Opening Day against the Dodgers.
One of the bigger storylines of the series is Kris Bryant, the former Cub great who won the NL MVP and World Series with the team in 2016. Bryant was traded from the Cubs to the Giants at the deadline last July, thus ending his tenure in Chicago. He signed a 7-year, $182 million contract in March with Colorado after the lockout. The Rockies paid Bryant to be that MVP caliber player for them, and he is off to a good start in purple and black hitting .350 with an .891 OPS.
Colorado has won four in a row and they are averaging 5.5 runs over that span. Along with Bryant, Connor Joe and CJ Cron have been key to their winning streak. Joe has a 1.142 OPS to go along with two home runs and a stolen base and Cron has a 1.033 OPS with two home runs and five RBI. Here is how the rest of Rockies lineup looks for tonight:
After a solid rookie campaign in 2021, Steele is looking to take another step forward in 2022 and he looked the part last Saturday against the Brewers. Steele went five innings and struck out five, giving up just four hits in the process. Steele will face a more difficult task tonight, pitching in the high altitude of Coors Field, the toughest park to pitch in in the league.
The Cubs will face southpaw Kyle Freeland tonight as they look to get back in the win column after a loss in Pittsburgh yesterday. Freeland got roughed up in his first start last Friday against the Dodgers, giving up five runs on five hits in 3 ⅔ innings. Freeland will look to get back on track tonight against a Cubs lineup that features one of the biggest stories in the league through the first week of the season, Seiya Suzuki.
Suzuki has recorded a hit in all five games this season, including a two-homer game on Tuesday in a 2-1 win over the Pirates. While Suzuki brought over his power from Japan with three home runs to go along with nine RBI he also brought his discipline at the plate. Suzuki has drawn five walks in as many games and that is going to be key in making the transition to the big leagues quick and easy. He will bat fifth and play right field tonight.
Nick Madrigal has gotten off to a slow start in his first five games as a Cub with just one hit in 15 at-bats. He will look to get on track in the Mile High City, hitting second and playing second base tonight. On the other hand, Ian Happ has come out of the gates strong, hitting .538 with a 1.317 OPS and four RBI. He will play left field and hit eighth. Here is how the rest of the Cubs lineup shakes out for the series opener:
This is a big series for the Cubs and they should be able to put up runs in the thin air of Colorado and they will need their pitching to do its part to keep the Rockies bats in check. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 7:40 PM on Marquee Sports Network.
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