Chicago Cubs head out west to visit a red-hot Giants team

It’s been a rough stretch for the Chicago Cubs who dropped their previous series to the Brewers. Now they’ll continue their road trip with a three-game weekend series with the San Francisco Giants. A red-hot Giants team.

Being the team with the best record in all of professional baseball cannot be easy. Sitting at the top of the standings with an impressive 28-11 record feels great but puts a giant target on your back.

Something that teams will be proud to shoot at when its time for them to take the field against you. Chicago has gone up against some spectacular pitching at the hands of Gerrit Cole, Chase Anderson, Jimmy Nelson, and yesterday’s starter, Junior Guerra.

Although they’ll miss out on Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto in San Francisco (25-18), they’ll still have their hands full with Jake Peavy, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner.

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Not to mention a lineup who outscored their opponents 29-14 during their eight-game winning streak which started on Wednesday, May 11 in their series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays at home.

Peavy (1-4, 7.43 ERA) is riding a no-decision in which he held the Arizona Diamondbacks to one earned run on three hits, two walks, and five strikeouts in six innings of work just six days ago.

He’ll be matched up against Chicago’s National League Cy Young winner, Jake Arrieta who was handed only one no-decision to start the year. Proving that he is, in fact, human.

Arrieta (7-0, 1.29 ERA) has dominated the competition thus far by allowing a combined eight earned runs on 29 hits, two home runs while posting a 55/18 K/BB ratio in 56 innings of work.

The Cubs have won a ton of his previous starts, which is great news for not only the fans of this organization but the club as well. This series is not going to be easy, by all means.

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Everyone, starting at Arrieta, the bullpen all the way down to the No. 8 hitter in the order, needs to bring their absolute best if they have any hopes of avoiding another skid that could possibly reach a season-high four games by the end of the weekend.

If not, their lead in the National League Central could possibly shrink down to 3.5 games. First pitch for tonight’s series opener is set for 9:15 p.m. central time and will air live on WGN, 670 The Score.

Here’s a look at how both teams match up: