Chicago Cubs News: 5 bold playoff predictions, Importance of pitching

Knowing what each of these teams is capable of offensively, it still seems to come back to pitching. Can the Chicago Cubs get off to a good start and beat Strasburg and Scherzer?

Good pitching beats good offense. Or that’s what they say. While the Chicago Cubs’ have the potential to do some damage with the bats, it won’t be easy. Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer and Gio Gonzalez await–with Tanner Roark waiting. But even while the Cubs’ pitching hasn’t been as consistent as last year, it can still be impressive. What will we get from Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Jake Arrieta is the question.

The field is set. From here, it’s anyone’s ballgame. The Chicago Cubs looked dead in the water in June but might end up winning the NL Central by eight games depending on today’s games. The Cleveland Indians had a 2017 season much like the Cubs did in 2016. Will this be the year for them? Would it be a bold pick to choose a team that’s a favorite to win it all? Pffft. Check out the bold picks that our Erik Mauro has for this season’s playoffs.

After Jake Arrieta’s last start, he admitted that he needed to tweak his delivery with the hamstring still being tender. On that note, the Cubs skipped his final start and will wait until Game 3 to send him to the mound. It’s a calculated risk for Maddon as Arrieta’s had a great second half. But the Cubs need a healthy Arrieta, not the guy just “pushing through” it if they want to win it all again. Once again, pitching seems to be the headline of this series.

These and other stories you might have missed:

‘Rotation for playoffs could be deadly’ – Cubbies Crib

‘5 bold predictions for the playoffs’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Pitching could be the difference in NLDS’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Arrieta to miss first two games of NLDS’ – Cubbies Crib

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