For the Chicago Cubs Panthers Cheap Jerseys , the last few days have felt like Christmas in July.
The team has won five games in a row and will try to stretch it to six on Wednesday afternoon in a Fourth of July matinee.
“Everything is believable,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters when asked about his team’s recent hot streak. “We believe in everything right now. Santa Claus is absolutely true.
“When you get to that point and you get that kind of confidence, you don’t want to do anything to nick it.”
Chicago (48-35) has climbed 13 games above .500 to match its high-water mark. The Cubs have a chance to set a new high when they host the Detroit Tigers (38-49) in the finale of a two-game series at Wrigley Field.
All of the Cubs’ five wins during the streak have been in come-from-behind fashion.
“One of our concepts is to score first,” Maddon said. “One of our concepts is to win the inning. But I think this is maybe the residue of our starting pitching not being what it probably is. We’ve given up more runs early from our starters that we didn’t anticipate happening.
“But it’s a tightly knit group. They’re there to pick everybody else up. So, OK, they’ve scored a couple runs. There’s no quit. The chatter in the dugout is great, all that stuff is outstanding. I just think that the come-from-behind component right now is based on our starters not pitching to their capabilities yet.”
That said, the Cubs will look for a solid start from left-hander Jose Quintana (6-6, 4.31 ERA) in his 17th start of the season. The 29-year-old has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his past 12 starts.
In 18 career starts against the Tigers, Quintana is 5-5 with a 4.37 ERA. The Colombia native has walked 26 and struck out 82 in 111 1/3 innings.
The Tigers will counter with veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano (3-4, 3.99 ERA) Bengals Cheap Jerseys , who is scheduled to make his 13th start of the season. The burly southpaw carries a career record of 105-103 with a 4.14 ERA in 335 career games.
More than a few teams could be scouting the 34-year-old Liriano as the trade deadline approaches. He is coming off a quality start against the Toronto Blue Jays but has not logged a victory since April 17 against the Baltimore Orioles.
In 14 career starts against the Cubs, Liriano is 5-4 with a 3.27 ERA. He most recently faced the club in 2016, when he posted an 0-2 record with a 7.63 ERA in three starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays.
The Tigers could turn to a six-man rotation in the next couple weeks, which is fine with Liriano.
“I think that would work,” Liriano said recently to mlive.com. “It wouldn’t bother me at all. I don’t know about any other guys. (Blaine) Hardy has been doing a great job, so it’s hard to put him in the bullpen with the way he’s throwing the ball right now. I think that’s a great idea.”
Injured Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (shoulder) is not expected to play Wednesday. He is hitting .280 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 66 games this season.
DENVER — Outfielder Brandon Nimmo will seek an encore performance after a memorable return to the region where he grew up and will try to continue his startling power surge Tuesday when the New York Mets look to win their fourth straight game and again beat the Colorado Rockies.
The Mets blasted the Rockies 12-2 on Monday with their biggest outburst since they scored 12 runs on May 15 against Toronto. Nimmo, who grew up in Cheyenne, Wyo., about 100 miles from Denver, led off the game with an inside-the-park home run and went 4-for-6 with two home runs and a career-high four RBI. The four hits tied his career-high and occurred after he hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning Sunday at Arizona.
Nimmo has hit a career-high 12 home runs this season and 10 since May 23, a 25-game stretch that also includes 19 extra-base hits and 17 RBI. Getting closer to the plate and eliminating his stride are among the suggestions Nimmo got from Mets coaches that have helped him improve his swing.
“I’ve been able to be more consistent when they make mistakes Aleksander Barkov Jersey ,” Nimmo said. “That’s really been the biggest things, those swing changes allowing me to be a little more consistent. I was always in my approach looking for a good pitch to hit, to try and drive. Now I’m just doing it a little more often. That’s encouraging. That’s really nice. That’s actually a pretty dangerous player. I’m proud of that.”
Left-hander Jason Vargas (2-5, 7.39 ERA) will start for the Mets on Tuesday against German Marquez (4-7, 5.13).
The Rockies will look to end an eight-game losing streak at Coors Field, during which they have been outscored 81-39. Their longest losing streak at home was nine consecutive games at Mile High Stadium from July 25 to Aug. 18, 1993.
The Rockies (34-38) have lost nine of their past 11 games and 13 of their past 17, a slide that has dropped them a season-most four games below .500
Starter Tyler Anderson gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings before relievers Harrison Musgrave, Jake McGee, Jeff Hoffman and Brooks Pounders combined to allow nine runs in 3 2/3 innings, raising the ERA for the Rockies relievers to a National League-worst 5.60.
“Is there a higher ceiling for this group? For sure Evgenii Dadonov Jersey Kids ,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “But it’s going to take the combination of the good hitting and the good pitching, and right now we got to get the pitching turned around. And we got to get it turned around quickly.”
Vargas is 2-2, 9.00 in five starts against the Rockies, the last in 2014. He’s 1-2, 11.40 in three starts at Coors Field, allowing three runs in seven innings in the most recent one in 2012 while pitching for Seattle.
Marquez is 0-2, 8.44 in three starts this month and last won on May 27 against Cincinnati. He’s 1-4, 7.71 in seven starts at home this season.
Marquez is 1-0, 3.75 in two starts against the Mets. He beat them this season on May 4 at Citi Field, allowing two runs in six innings in Colorado’s 8-7 victory and got a no-decision Aug. 3, 2017 Lions Cheap Jerseys , at Coors Field when he allowed three runs in six innings in the Rockies’ 5-4 triumph.
The Mets (31-38) will be trying to win four straight games for the first time since May 18-21. They have since gone 7-19, and Monday’s victory was just the sixth for the Mets in their past 19 games. Monday also marked Nimmo’s second game at Coors Field. He pinc hit and grounded into a fielder’s choice last season on Aug. 2.
“I remember I broke my bat,” Nimmo said. “I did a little bit better today.”
Nimmo’s two-homer, four-hit game raised his average to .287 in 60 games with 22 RBI and a 1.013 OPS.
“It’s a much different feel (than last year),” Nimmo said. “It’s a different experience, but I’m glad to be here. Very, very blessed. Most people do not get to out their dream like this and wonder what it’s like to play on that field and then get to experience that some day in the big leagues. So really, really blessed.”