Kyle Hendricks on the mound to begin second home stand for the Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs return to Wrigley Field following another successful road trip to begin the season. After nearly sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Jake Arrieta no-hit the Cincinnati Reds, Kyle Hendricks looks to redeem himself following his second loss.

There are only a few days left in the month of April and so far, two of the best records in all of baseball come from the beautiful city of Chicago. With the White Sox handling their business on the South Side, the North Siders have been making some serious noise of their own. I can’t wait until these two squads meet up.

But for now, the Chicago Cubs (14-5) open up their second home stand against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers (8-11) currently sit at the bottom of the National League Central, trailing the Cincinnati Reds by half a game.

Taking the mound for the visiting team will be 26-year-old right-hander, Jimmy Nelson. Nelson (3-1, 3.46 ERA) leads this Milwaukee pitching staff (including bullpen) in wins, strikeouts (19), earned run average and WHIP (1.23) while the Cubs are evened out pretty well when it comes to these categories.

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In his previous outing against the Minnesota Twins, Nelson was tagged for four earned runs on 10 hits while issuing one walk and recording six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of work. Despite Minnesota reaching double digits in hits, Nelson picked up his third win of the season.

Another interesting note that’s worth mentioning is that he’s given up six home runs in four starts this season. Something that he is going to need to avoid doing tonight or else he won’t last longer than five innings.

Hendricks (1-2, 4.00 ERA), on the other hand, has only been taken once in three starts. In those three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals, Joe Maddon‘s 26-year-old right-hander was charged with eight earned runs behind 18 hits and a K/BB ratio of 15/3.

Kyle has struck out five batter’s per game which is pretty solid.  Hopefully, his offense will be able to back him up with a few runs to begin the game this time around. First baseman Anthony Rizzo was robbed of a two-run homer in the first inning of his previous start in St. Louis.

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First pitch for tonight’s contest is set for 7:05 p.m. central time and will air live on CSN, 670 The Score.

Here’s a look at tonight’s starting lineups for both the Cubs and Brewers: