Today’s roster move: Here
Friday notes…
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FIVE AND TWO: The Cubs are 5-2 in their last seven games. This is their first 5-2 span of the season that did not include any games during their two 10-game winning streaks. They were 5-2 through the first four wins of the first streak, beginning with the sixth win of that streak, and beginning with the sixth win of the second streak. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
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STARTING OFF RIGHT: The Cubs have won the first game of their last two series, after having lost the opener of the previous seven. They won the last two series after having lost the previous seven. They are 7-3 in winning series after winning first games; 3-10-1 after losing first games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
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AFTER AN OFF DAY: The Cubs are 4-5 in games after a day off but have lost their last three, two at home. They are 3-3 in all games at home following a day of rest. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
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CAMPAIGNING FOR PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Pete Crow-Armstrong, 16 games in June: .406/.435/.906 (26-for-64) with four doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 11 RBI, 12 runs scored and four stolen bases.
Cubs lineup:
Blue Jays lineup:
Ben Brown, RHP vs. Kevin Gausman, RHP
I wouldn’t say Ben Brown has been the savior of the Cubs starting rotation but… yeah, he pretty much has been. Since he joined the rotation May 8, he has a 1.49 ERA, 0.936 WHIP, 2.13 FIP and still no home runs allowed this season after he gave up one to the first batter he faced in 2026 (Jacob Young of the Nationals), now 243 batters. In seven starts he’s allowed only one hit in three of them.
Good stuff, Ben. He threw four innings of one-run relief against the Jays last year, Aug. 12, 2025 in Toronto, his only career outing against them.
Kevin Gausman has been an underrated, consistent starter in MLB for over a decade. This year at age 35, he’s having another good year, and in his last start, June 13 vs. the Yankees, he allowed one hit over seven innings.
Gausman threw seven innings against the Cubs Aug. 13, 2025 in Toronto and allowed two runs — both on solo homers, one by Michael Busch, the other by Matt Shaw.
This will not be an easy afternoon for Cubs hitters.
Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also streaming on Peacock (outside the Cubs and Blue Jays market territories).
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
MLB.com Gameday
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Blue Jays site Bluebird Banter. If you do go there to interact with Jays 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 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, 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.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
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