Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres preview, Wednesday 4/10, 5:40 CT (2024)

Wednesday notes...

• RUN SCORING: The Cubs have scored 71 runs in their first 11 games. That ties for the fourth most they have tallied through 11 games at the start of a season in the Modern Era. Their record is 80, in 1954, but they went 5-6 in those games. The Cubs scored 77 in 1929 (7-4), 74 in 2019 (3-8) and 71 in 1901 (4-7) and 2016 (9-2). Their 12-game highes are 85 (1954), 81 (1929), 80 (1937), 79 (1938), 77 (1901), 76 (2019) and 72 (1926). (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• HAPP-ENINGS: Ian Happ’s hitting streak came to an end Tuesday, but he extended his on-base streak to 10 games with a walk. During the streak he is batting .350/.458/.475 (14-for-40) with three doubles, a triple, eight walks and 11 runs scored.
• THE LEIT SHOW: Mark Leiter Jr. has thrown 6⅔ scoreless innings with nine strikeouts across six outings so far in 2024. Leiter is one of four N.L. pitchers (min. six games) to have not allowed an earned run this season. Since July 17, 2023, Leiter has posted a 2.70 ERA (10 earned runs in 33⅓ innings) in 38 appearances.
• THE CUBS BATS: The Cubs are second in MLB in runs with 71, though they have played three fewer games than the Dodgers, who lead with 79. They are fourth in walks with 58, again having played fewer games than all three teams above them (Yankees, Dodgers, Pirates). They are second in OBP (.364), fifth in SLG (.431) and fourth in OPS (.795).
• THE CUBS ARMS: The Cubs starting pitchers have posted a 3.21 ERA (17 earned runs in 47⅔ innings) in their first 11 games, the second-best mark among starting staffs in the National League.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Padres lineup:

Kyle Hendricks, RHP vs. Dylan Cease, RHP

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Hendricks’ third start last year after he returned from his shoulder injury was at San Diego, June 5, 2023. He threw six innings and allowed four runs (three earned).

After his first two starts this year I think we’d take that.

Kyle has an excellent career record in Petco Park: seven starts, 2.58 ERA, 0.860 WHIP, only three home runs allowed in 45⅓ innings. Manny Machado is 7-for-17 (.412) lifetime vs. Kyle. Stop him and it should be a good night.

As you can see by the graphic below, velocity has not been an issue for Kyle this year — he’s averaging 87.5+ with his fastball, which is typical for him when he’s going well. Might be useful to throw the curve a bit more.

Dylan Cease has a 3.45 ERA and 1.186 WHIP in five career starts vs. the Cubs, though he has not faced them since 2022. Thus this is a very different Cubs team than the one he’s used to seeing. Cease can have a tendency to issue walks, so patience on the part of Cubs hitters would be useful.

Ian Happ is just 1-for-14 lifetime vs. Cease with six strikeouts.

Statcast

Statcast

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. You can find out if Marquee is available via a provider in your area here.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Padres site Gaslamp Ball. If you do go there to interact with Padres fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2024 Game Thread procedure will be like last year’s, similar to what we’ve used for Spring Training.

You’ll find the game preview posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.

You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.