Gausman took the loss after giving up three runs on five hits and no walks across 3.1 innings during Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Padres on Wednesday. He struck out one.
Conforto isn't in the lineup Wednesday for Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Padres.
Boyd (0-1) took the loss in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Padres on Tuesday. He gave up four runs on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk over four innings.
The Diamondbacks outrighted Sanchez to Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.
The Cubs outrighted Kelly to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.
Gausman will start Game 2 of the wild-card series versus the Padres on Wednesday, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.
Gausman (shoulder) is on the Cubs' roster for the wild-card series against the Padres, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.
Steele (elbow) is not on the Cubs' roster for their wild-card series versus the Padres, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Thielbar is not on the Cubs' roster for their NL Wild Card Series against the Padres, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Taylor went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Red Sox.
FanDuel (-136). Merrill Kelly has really struggled this season. Pitching to a 5.37 ERA, he’s actually a regression candidate, with his expected ERA at 7.23. His last two starts have yielded six earned runs in each, and his leash has shortened (80, 71 and 86 pitches over his last three). The Diamondbacks bullpen isn’t in great shape, but Arizona is battling for playoff positioning, and don’t have the luxury to mess around if Kelly is getting shelled. And he might tonight - the Cubs have sported an .818 OPS over the last two weeks versus righties, and have the third lowest team chase rate.
Merrill Kelly relies on chase to be effective, and he'll face off with a Cubs lineup that chases pitches out of the zone at the 5th lowest rate in the league. Chicago has led the league in working free passes from right-handed pitchers for the entire season, and they've remained above a 10% walk rate during the 2nd half (2nd in MLB). Kelly has walked an astonishing 40 batters in 70 innings when facing a lefty, as opposed to 17 in 52 innings to righties, so it will be on PCA, Ian Happ, and Michael Busch to grab some walks tonight. The DBacks used six relievers yesterday so if they push Kelly a bit further, we may get the extra walk we need.
Neither these starting pitchers have been in good form of late. Merrill Kelly has given up five runs, or more, in three of his last four starts, owning a 6.24 home ERA. On the other side, Kevin Gausman has a 6.19 ERA since being acquired by Chicago. Both offenses sit top of the National League in runs scored, average, OPS, and OBP.
The Cubs have scored at least four runs in seven of their last eight games. They poured on 19 runs on the Mariners last night before traveling to Phoenix here for a matchup with Merrill Kelly, who owns a 6.24 ERA in 10 starts at Chase Field. He's allowed five runs in three of his last four overall, all in five innings or fewer.
Do you think I'm betting against the future National League MVP when I'll be at the ballpark? Absolutely not. Pete Crow-Armstrong is 2 for 5 lifetime against Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly with two doubles. PCA has also hit this prop in 6 of his last 7 games. I think he once again puts on a show for those of us at Chase Field in front of a nearly 50/50 Cubs crowd.
