Cubs Shuffle Up Rotation For White Sox Series

This has to be the latest the Cubs and White Sox have played each other since the 1906 World Series, right? Anyway, the Cubs shuffled up their rotation ahead of the crosstown series, but we’re still going to have some great pitching matchups, at least the best possible matchups after Michael Kopech went down with his UCL injury.

The Cubs have an off day on Thursday and because of that Joe Maddon has pushed back Jon Lester to Saturday to give the veteran left-hander an extra day of rest, while moving Jose Quintana to the series opener on Friday.

Lester had back spasms in his start against the Brewers on Sept. 10, but he didn’t miss his next scheduled start against the Reds. He was awesome on Sept. 15, pitching seven scoreless innings, throwing 108 pitches. So, the Cubs are simply trying to give him as much rest as possible.

Quintana will pitch in the opener on Friday and it’ll be his first start against the White Sox since last year’s blockbuster trade. Despite some trouble with his command in the first half of the season, Quintana has stepped up since August for the Cubs, recording a 3.31 ERA in his last nine starts and a 2.10 ERA in his last six starts.

The White Sox have their three best pitchers scheduled to start against the Cubs, so these are the matchups as of now.

Friday: Jose Quintana vs. Reynaldo Lopez

Saturday: Jon Lester vs. Lucas Giolito

Sunday: Kyle Hendricks vs. Carlos Rodon

Overall, the Cubs rotation leads MLB with a 2.50 ERA since Aug. 16.

The Cubs won two of three from the White Sox back in May at Wrigley Field.

One final note for the series. Kyle Schwarber’s been dealing with back tightness for the past couple weeks, but is expected to return on Friday. Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune said that if Schwarber’s back is good he will start in left field against the White Sox, leaving the DH spot open for Daniel Murphy.