Chicago Cubs look to start road trip off on the right foot against the Mets

The Chicago Cubs will look to take advantage of a struggling Jacob deGrom as they start a three-game series against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

The Chicago Cubs started their homestand off with a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, and things looked to be falling into place. But they failed to seize the momentum as they dropped four out of the last five, but did finish with a win over the Colorado Rockies. Now they head into New York to take on the New York Mets who will have Yoenis Cespedes back in action tonight.

The Cubs (31-31) hope to start this road trip off better than the last one out West. A win tonight would make it immediately better than the last trip. John Lackey (4-6, 5.12) will take the mound against the Mets as he hopes to improve on his last outing. He allowed two home runs in a 6-5 loss and had allowed six home runs in his last 23 innings pitched.

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The Mets (28-33) hope to get something more out of Jacob deGrom (4-3, 4.75) who’s hit a rough patch as of late. In his last two outings, he’s failed to go more than four innings, and he’s struggled with the Cubs as it is. His 5.31 ERA against the Cubs is his second highest against any National League team.

Joe Maddon is going with Jon Jay again in the leadoff spot as he showed some promise in Sunday’s game against the Rockies. If the Cubs could find a permanent table setter at the top, things for the offense could start to fall into place. Addison Russell will once again be in the starting lineup as he tried to work through his issues off the field.

For the Mets, the big news is the return of Cespedes to the lineup. He’s missed time with a hamstring injury since April 27 and just recently returned to action. His bat makes the job for Lackey more difficult as he’s a pitcher that likes to challenge hitters. Which isn’t always a good idea with the likes of Cespedes and Jay Bruce in the lineup.

Here are the lineups for tonight’s action:

Next: Cubs in for good series against the Mets

The game is scheduled to start at 6:10 p.m. CT at Citi Field. CSN-C will have the television coverage while 670 The Score will have the radio broadcast. Be sure to check back for more Cubs coverage during and after the game!