Chicago Cubs face Diamondbacks as Hammel returns

The Chicago Cubs will have Jason Hammel back on the mound after he exited his last start with cramps in his hamstring. He’ll look to continue the solid streak of pitching from the starters against the Diamondbacks.

With all the talk of the Chicago Cubs(38-15) high-scoring offense, what gets lost in the shuffle is that high run-differential can be attributed to the pitching just as much as the offense. With all five starters carrying a sub-3.00 ERA, they have been the biggest surprise of the 2016 season so far. Jason Hammel is ready to return to the mound to face the D-backs (24-33) in the second of their three-game set.

Hammel (6-1, 2.09) left early in his last start after experiencing some cramping in his hamstring. There was some concern since it was very similar to last years issue he had, but he looks like he’s ready to go without missing any time. He’ll face the D-backs Edwin Escobar (0-1, 18.80) who allowed eight runs in 3 1/3 innings in his first Major League start. On paper, this looks like a lopsided match-up, but the Cubs often struggle with the pitchers they haven’t seen before.

Hammel’s biggest nemesis with be–no surprise–Paul Goldschmidt (isn’t he everyone’s nemesis?). He’s 4-for-12 against Hammel in his career with one home run and four RBIs. Ben Zobrist is the only Cubs player who has faced Escobar and has one hit in just one at-bat.

Here’s the lineups for today’s game–weather permitting as showers are expected to move through this afternoon:

First pitch is slated for 1:20 p.m. CT at Wrigley Field. WGN will have the television coverage while 670 The Score will have the radio broadcast. Be sure to come back after the game for our postgame coverage!