Chicago Cubs Series Preview: Looking for consistency, team heads out to face Colorado

Where they sit: Chicago Cubs

Record:  8-8, 4th in National League Central

Record (Last 10): 5-5

E.R.A: 3.90 (10th in N.L.)

OBP: .341 (2nd in N.L.)

Team HR: 17 (11th in N.L.)

Team Leader – WAR: Kris Bryant: 1.0 (Fangraphs)

All about building on momentum

For the third time of the season, the Cubs offense put up eight runs, resulting in a victory and series-split with the Cardinals. As the team heads to the thin air of Coors Field, it is essential for the bats to continue their offensive surge.

Kris Bryant has genuinely begun his 2018 season, slashing .328/.468/.557 with 2 HR and 10 RBI. He has also found great success playing at Coors Field, as Bryant has slashed .346/.370/.615 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in his career. Facing Gray off the bat should help him, as he can hopefully continue his hot start and be the driving catalyst for the team this weekend.

Conversely, the leader of this team, Anthony Rizzo, is fresh off his minor stint on the 10-day DL, and will himself look to make a severe impact for the offense this weekend. Similar to Kris Bryant, facing Jon Gray should give Rizzo a chance to get something going. Gray has found himself leaving the ball in the zone with two strikes a fair bit, so expect Rizzo to have a good chance at taking Gray deep.

Over the past week, it has been great to see contributions from guys not named Rizzo or Bryant. Javier Baez has been on fire, and even Jason Heyward has found his consistency over the past couple of games. The offense needs to continue hitting all the way through and keep building on their momentum.