Cubs, Tigers face off in rubber match (8:10 p.m. ET on ESPN)
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The Cubs and Tigers will wrap up their three-game matchup in the series finale on Wednesday.
Detroit won the series opener in an 8-6 extra-inning win, while Chicago handily won the second game, 11-2. Wednesday’s matchup will be exclusively televised on ESPN at 8:10 p.m. ET. Here’s what you need to know about each team for this Midwest matchup.
Where things stand with the Cubs
It’s been a peculiar season for the Cubs, who have flashed brilliance for extended stretches but also mixed in bouts of struggles. Chicago, rather notoriously, had two separate 10-game winning streaks before their 40th game of the season. By the end of the month, the Cubs had a 10-game losing streak.
Even their day-to-day inconsistencies have been stark at times. On July 1, the Cubs scored 23 runs against the Padres at Wrigley Field. In their very next game, the Cubs lost 17-1 against the Cardinals in Chicago.
Things have mellowed a bit since then, as the Cubs have mostly settled in as a very good baseball team, albeit one fighting an uphill battle against a great Brewers squad -- Chicago enters Wednesday six games behind the Brewers. The Cubs, however, have a strong hold on the top Wild Card spot.
Sparking the Cubs success has been a familiar cast as last season, but Pete Crow-Armstrong’s continued development is a key reason why. PCA entered Tuesday with 5.9 WAR, per FanGraphs, second only to Shohei Ohtani’s 6.0 mark. The 24-year-old has a .905 OPS, 21 home runs and 25 stolen bases and has played world-class defense in center field.
Where things stand with the Tigers
On June 28, the Tigers were 35-49 and the thought of selling at the Deadline was a real proposition. Since that point, Detroit has gone 12-5 and firmly put itself back in the playoff mix. The Tigers are five games back of a Wild Card spot and 6 1/2 back in the division.
The trajectory of the Tigers' season is even more fascinating with the context surrounding Tarik Skubal. The reigning two-time AL Cy Young Award winner is an impending free agent and also someone who underwent a minimally invasive NanoScope procedure on his elbow and only missed about six weeks.
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Given the construction of the Tigers' roster and a wide-open AL Wild Card picture, the Tigers could very well hold onto their ace and make a run at it. With a position-player group headlined by Dillon Dingler, Kevin McGonigle and Riley Greene, the Tigers have plenty of talent to make a playoff push.
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