Cubs Probable Pitchers

Quintana beat the A's on Wednesday at home behind seven strong innings. He struck out seven, walked none and allowed one run on two hits. The Cubs are 7-0 in his past seven starts. Quintana is 6-0 with a 3.67 ERA in that span.

Vargas owns a 3-0 record with a 3.95 ERA in seven previous starts against the Cubs. He met with ordinary results in his lone start against them this year, yielding four runs (two earned) and four hits in 4 2/3 innings on June 21.

Hamels gave up five runs (four earned) in three innings against the Reds on Thursday. He had a 1.07 ERA in his previous seven turns. This will mark Hamels' first start in Philadelphia since he pitched for the Phillies in 2015.

Nola acknowledged that he had less than his best stuff last Thursday after allowing three runs and seven hits over five innings in a 5-0 loss to the Giants. He's 2-1 with a 5.11 ERA in four career starts against the Cubs.

Darvish took a loss on Friday after giving up four runs (all via homers) in six innings. He struck out nine and walked none, continuing a recent trend. Darvish has 53 strikeouts and only two walks in his past seven starts (41 2/3 innings).

The Phillies improved to 6-7 in Smyly's starts even though he allowed six runs (four earned) in 5 2/3 innings last Friday at San Francisco. He has never faced the Cubs.

Hendricks was tagged for seven runs on 12 hits (including three homers) Saturday against the Reds. That rocky outing came immediately after an impressive stretch in which the right-hander had put up a 2.35 ERA over his previous seven starts.

Musgrove allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings in St. Louis on Aug. 10, though a defensive miscue he made cost him more than his pitching did. Musgrove has struggled with consistency of late, following up solid performances with weaker efforts and unable to really get into a groove.

Lester has a 10.93 ERA in three August starts, none of which have lasted longer than five innings. He's also walked three batters in each of his last two outings, and his ERA sits at 4.43 after he entered the month with a 3.63 ERA.

In two starts since returning from a left shoulder strain, Brault has allowed six runs on eight hits across 10 innings, striking out nine while walking four. He has not thrown more than 86 pitches in a start since June 30.