Chicago Cubs vs Arizona Diamondbacks – Series Preview (April 18-20): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (12-9) finished a very challenging road trip against the Dodgers and the Padres with a 3-3 record, which is nothing to sneeze at against two of the better teams in baseball. They continue to deftly navigate a treacherous early schedule and are in first place in the National League Central entering the weekend. Now they return to Wrigley Field for an eight-game homestand that begins with three against the Diamondbacks starting Friday.
The Diamondbacks (12-7) have gone 10-5 since splitting their season-opening series with the North Siders in March. They are right in the middle of the four-way battle for a loaded NL West division that looks like it’s going to be a grind all season.
The D-backs offense picked right up where it left off in 2024 with a team OPS of .799, good enough for second in MLB. Corbin Carroll has shaken off his sophomore slump with a 1.064 OPS and six home runs this season. New addition Josh Naylor is off to a great start as well. Perhaps most impressively, all of this is happening with star second baseman Ketel Marte on the injured list with a hamstring strain.
Arizona’s pitching staff has not been as successful with a 4.07 team ERA. The starting rotation has struggled with big free-agent signing Corbin Burnes sporting a 5.28 ERA. The bullpen has been better, but it is far from lights-out. The combination of a high-powered offense and uncertain pitching has made for some exciting games in the desert.
The Cubs learned firsthand by blowing a four-run lead at Chase Field that no lead is safe against the Diamondbacks, who also stunned the Brewers with five 9th-inning runs for a walk-off win last week. On the other side of the coin, however, Chicago has a chance to get the offense back in gear after battling the nasty Padres hurlers.
The Cubs have three more series against winning teams before finally getting a break. Emerging from this with a record over .500 will be a solid accomplishment that should put them in a good position to compete for their division. Things have gone well so far, let’s see if they can keep it going.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, April 18 at 1:20pm CT on MLB Network and Marquee.
- Saturday, April 19 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
- Sunday, April 20 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 4/18 | Colin Rea | 34 | R | 1.00 | 0-0 | 1.79 | 7.00 |
| Corbin Burnes | 30 | R | 5.28 | 0-1 | 5.88 | 1.56 | |
| 4/19 | Ben Brown | 25 | R | 5.09 | 2-1 | 3.92 | 2.22 |
| Zac Gallen | 29 | R | 4.64 | 1–2 | 4.28 | 2.18 | |
| 4/20 | Jameson Taillon | 33 | R | 5.40 | 1-1 | 5.04 | 3.60 |
| Merrill Kelly | 36 | R | 5.57 | 3–1 | 4.91 | 1.60 |
What to Watch For
- Pete Crow-Armstrong has gone off the past four games with three home runs, two doubles, and a triple.
- Jordan Wicks is coming up from Iowa to replace Luke Little, who struggled in his appearance against the Padres.
- Eugenio Suárez has gone 6–for-49 with one home run since hitting four homers against the Cubs in March.
- Rea did a nice job in his first start of the season against the Dodgers.
