The Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins will close out their three-game weekend series Sunday live on ESPN.
The teams are scheduled to take the field live at 7 p.m. ET. on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell. Matt Vasgersian will have the call for the broadcast. World Series Champion and EPN analyst Alex Rodriguez and ESPN Senior MLB Insider Buster Olney will join Vasgersian with additional commentary.
Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton will have the call for the game on ESPN Radio.
Yu Darvish (7-2) is scheduled to get the start for the host Cubs in Sunday night’s game. His last time on the mound was Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians. Darvish pitched seven innings in the game, allowing nine hits, two earned runs, and one walk while striking out seven batters during his time on the mound.
Chicago eked out the 6-5 win in Tuesday’s game against Cleveland. Jeremy Jeffress (4-1) was credited with the win in the matchup.
Jose’ Berri’os (4-3) is scheduled to get the start for Minnesota in Sunday’s game. His last time on the mound was Monday against the Chicago White Sox, who have punched their ticket to the post season. Barri’os pitched five innings in the game, allowing six hits, one earned run, and one walk while striking out two batters.
The White Sox won the noted game 3-1. Taylor Rogers (1-4) took the loss for the Twins, having pitched less than an inning. He allowed two hits, two earned runs, and two walks. He struck out none.
The Cubs took the lead game in this weekend’s series, 1-0. The series’ second game is scheduled to take place tonight. Alec Mills (5-3) is scheduled to get the start for the Cubs in tonight’s game.
Mills’ last time on the mound was Sept. 13 against Milwaukee. The Cubs dominated the Brewers 12-0 in that game. Mills made headlines that night, having pitched a perfect game.
Michael Pineda (1-0) is scheduled to get the start for the Twins in tonight’s game. His last time on the mound was Sept. 13 against Cleveland. Minnesota won that game 7-5. Caleb Thielbar was credited with the win, pitching less than an inning, allowing one run, one earned run, and wo walks while striking out one batter.
Sunday night’s series closer and tonight’s game are toss-ups, looking at the noted figures and the teams’ overall stats. Each team is comfortably in the postseason fight in its respective conference and division.
Minnesota is looking to rebound tonight after Friday night’s loss to the Cubs. The team 5-5 in its last 10 games, though. Chicago meanwhile is 8-2 in its last 10 games. Adding to the interest is that Chicago is 19-12 at home so far this season versus going 12-8 on the road.
The Twins have also proven far better at home this season (21-5) than on the road (10-17).
Sunday night’s game is just one of two in a double header schedule for ESPN. the network will offer a matinee game live at 4 p.m. between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics in yet another cross-conference matchup.
That game is the closer in the teams’ three-game weekend series. The American League West leading Athletics (32-19) took the series’ opener Friday 6-0 against the Giants (25-25) who sit third in the National League West.
Karl Ravech will have the call for Sunday afternoon’s game. Analyst Eduardo Perez and MLB Hall-Of-Famer Chipper Jones will join Ravech and provide additional commentary.
Oakland has not yet announced who will start on the mound Sunday. Johnny Cueto (2-1) is scheduled to get the start for the Giants. His last time on the mound was Sept. 13 against the San Diego Padres during a double header that day.
The series’ second game is scheduled to take place at 4:10 p.m. ET today. Jesus Luzardo (2-2) is scheduled to get the start in this afternoon’s game. His last time on the mound was Sept. 14 against the Seattle Mariners during a double header schedule that day.
Kevin Gausman (3-2) is scheduled to get the start this afternoon for San Francisco. He has not thrown a pitch since Sept. 7 against Arizona. Gausman was credited with the win in the 4-2 victory over the Diamondbacks. Over the course of six innings pitched, Gausman allowed two hits one run, one earned run, three walks, and struck out nine batters.
The Giants and Athletics are each h6-4 in their last 10 games, and while Gausman won his last game, the numbers still favor the Athletics in Saturday and Sunday’s games. The As are 19-7 at home so far this season and 13-12 on the road. The team’s win Friday is also part of a two-game win streak, meaning the team will come into this weekend’s games with some momentum.
The Giants meanwhile have struggled on the road this season, going 9-16 away.That is compared to a 16-9 home record so far.
Sunday’s double header schedule will launch at 3 p.m. with Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown. Kevin Connors will anchor the broadcast live from ESPN’s Bristol, CT studios. World Series Champion and ESPN analyst Mark Teixeira will join Connors and provide additional commentary.
ESPN Analyst Tim Kurkjian and Olympic Gold Medalist Jessica Mendoza will join the broadcast remotely.
More information on ESPN’s upcoming MLB broadcasts is available online now along with all of the latest MLB headlines at:
Website: http://www.espn.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ESPN
Twitter: http://twitter.com/espn
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