The Blue Jays outfielder will miss the rest of the year with an injury.

Toronto outfielder Melky Cabrera will miss the rest of the season with a hand injury. According to the Blue Jays official Twitter account, it is a fairly serious injury that will require surgery:

Melky Cabrera has suffered a right pinky finger fracture with an avulsion of extensor tendon. He will have season ending surgery next week.

— Blue Jays-Official (@BlueJays) September 6, 2014

An avulsion essentially means that the extensor tendon was exposed as the surface tissue was forcibly detached from the structure. Ouch.

Cabrera has had a good season for the Blue Jays, but more and more it is clear that he needs to be relegated to designated hitting duties. Though he has hit .301/.358/.458 with 16 home runs and 73 RBI, he only accrued 2.5 Wins Above Replacement due to his poor range and throwing skills in the outfield (-12.4).

Cabrera is also a free agent at the conclusion of this season, and has expressed a desire to return to the Blue Jays. If his rehab goes well, Cabrera will see a lot of interest during the winter from several teams looking for offensive help.

Blue Jays 3 Red Sox 4

Bad defense and bad offense costs us another one.

The idea to pinch run for Edwin Encarnacion, after he singled to lead off the 8th, was the wrong move. Course if one of  John Mayberry, Danny Valencia or Kevin Pillar could have hit, then it could have been the right move. Of course, Edwin's spot in the order came up in the 9th with the tying run at second and, sadly, it was Juan Francisco who was in that spot. A checked swing roller ended the game.

J.A. Happ wasn't good but then he could have had some help from the guys with the gloves. Happ fought through 6 innings, allowed 7 hits, 3 walks, striking out 5 and allowing 4 runs. That got him the loss.

Aaron Sanchez and Brandon Morrow each pitched a scoreless inning of relief, each throwing heat.

On offense, we couldn't do anything much against Sunscreen Boy, who's hair was particularly greasy. We got a run in the first, Edwin singled, Adam Lind walked and Dioner Navarro singled to drive Eddie home. Then, after a Pillar single to lead off the second, Buchholz got the next 12 Blue Jays out. Jose Bautista had a lead off double in the 6th and Edwin followed with a walk, but we couldn't score.

We got 2 in the 7th, Danny Valencia was hit by pitch and Gibby brought Colby Rasmus in to pinch hit for Ryan Goins. Farrell brought in a lefty, but Gibby decided to leave in Rasmus (what a dumb more) and Colby hit a home run (and it worked) to make it a 1-run game, but that was it for scoring.

It is pretty amazing that Rasmus has hit 2 pinch hit home runs since being benched.

Jays of the Day Navarro (.138 WPA), Edwin (.131) and Kawasaki (.132).

Suckage goes to Reyes (-.205), Francisco (-.142), Lind (-.120), Pillar (-.119). Valencia had the number, -.135, but he was rung up twice by the idiot umpire on balls that were well off the plate and I think he deserves a prize for not going postal on the ump.

We had 663 comments in the GameThread. Pikachu led the way again. Good job sir.

The Blue Jays try to avoid a crushing sweep at Fenway this afternoon at 1:35 as knuckleballer R.A. Dickey takes the hill against Rubby De La Rosa. The Blue Jays have faced the righty three times this season and have crushed him each and every time. Considering the Dominican has a 3.89 ERA this season it's a bit weird that Toronto has had so much success against De La Rosa, getting 25 hits and 12 earned runs against him in 14.2 innings.

It turns out that the Red Soxare limiting De La Rosa's innings to end the season so there's a chance that he will receive a quick hook if he gets into any trouble. This is especially helpful for the Blue Jays considering how much work the Red Sox bullpen has faced in the past couple days.

In a preview of De La Rosa a few weeks ago, it was noted that he had started using his slider more to offset his predictable fastball and changeup mix, but that change didn't end up being as big as it first appeared. De La Rosa is still featuring the fastball and change against hitters on both sides of the plate although it's not quite as drastic as earlier in the season (September is just a case of a small sample size):

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Jose Bautista RF
3. Edwin Encarnacion DH
4. Adam Lind 1B
5. Kevin Pillar LF
6. Ryan Goins 2B
7. Danny Valencia 3B
8. Josh Thole C
9. Anthony Gose CF

Bullpen Usage

Aaron Sanchez is likely unavailable today for the Blue Jays as well as Brandon Morrow. For Boston it looks like Burke Badenhop, Drake Britton, and Edward Mujica will all have the day off.

Melky Cabrera becomes a much better option if the Mets' first-round pick is protected and Cabrera rejects a qualifying offer from Toronto.

As a 2015 free agent, Melky Cabrera carries a great deal of uncertainty, but he is one of the more intriguing options among outfielders. For the time being, the Mets are trying to fill the vacuum left by Chris Young's release with Matt den Dekker and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Dilson Herrera'sleap from Double-A shows that the Mets are not averse to aggressive promotions, but the organization could look to acquire a veteran outfielder like Melky Cabrera during the offseason.

Cabrera was connected to the Mets the last time he was a free agent in 2012, when he was coming off a 50-game suspension for using PEDs. He put up 4.5 fWAR in 501 plate appearances with the San Francisco Giants in 2012, the highest total of his career, and he seemed likely to command a four- or five-year contract in the offseason. Had he not been suspended, he may have received a contract similar to the four-year, $60 million deal the Mets gave to Curtis Granderson last offseason. Instead, the 2012 All-Star Game MVP tried to avoid his suspension with a phony website and the Giants chose not to activate him in the playoffs when he was eligible.

After watching the Giants sweep the Detroit Tigers in the World Series without him, Cabrera accepted a two-year, $16 million contract from the Toronto Blue Jays, but irritation in his left knee limited him to 372 plate appearances in 2013. When he did play, he looked closer to the -1.4 fWAR player he was in 2010 with the Braves. He underwent surgery to remove a benign tumor from his spinal cord during the offseason and posted a sturdy 2.5 fWAR in 2014 before being shut down due to a broken pinkie.

Melky has a few things in common with Marlon Byrd, as they were both hit with 50-game PED suspensions during the 2012 season and they both lost out on a great deal of money because of it. Byrd signed a minor league deal with the Mets in 2013 and rebuilt his value before signing a two-year, $16 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in the offseason. Cabrera did not rebound as quickly as Byrd did, but he has rewarded the Blue Jays for being patient with him.

The similarities between Byrd's and Cabrera's contracts reflect the negative impacts of their PED suspensions, but not their large gap in age. As a 30-year-old entering free agency, Cabrera will command much more than Byrd did as a 36-year-old in 2013. Considering the weakness of the 2015 free agent outfield class, Cabrera might come close to the four-year deal he likely would have had in 2012 had he not been suspended, though a lot depends on Toronto's decision to give him a qualifying offer.

In the August 6 article, "What To Do With Melky Cabrera?" Kyle Matte emphasized the need for the Blue Jays to extend a qualifying offer to Cabrera and discussed a few potential scenarios that could stem from an offer. If Cabrera rejects a qualifying offer and finds little interest on the market, he might have to take a surprisingly low deal, which is exactly what happened to Nelson Cruz last offseason.

The ideal scenario for the Mets would begin with Cabrera rejecting a qualifying offer from Toronto and then meeting a cold market. With a protected first-round pick, the Mets would have much less competition for Cabrera's service. If he costs a first-round pick, however, the Mets' interest might wane.

Cruz is set to be a free agent in 2015, and while he has received a lot of attention due to a career-high in home runs, he has only accrued 6.8 fWAR over the last four years, while Cabrera has posted 9.8. Cruz and Cabrera have very similar marks in wRC+ and wOBA, but they reached those numbers with different approaches.

Cabrera has kept his line drive and contact rates above career levels while swinging at fewer pitches outside of the strike zone. Cruz's .516 slugging percentage is a bit higher than his .499 career average, but it looks much better when compared to the league average mark of .388, which has dropped for the second year in a row.

Neither Cruz nor Cabrera has added much defensive value this season. Cruz has often been used as a designated hitter; Cabrera's -7.7 UZR/150 is an improvement over last year's -14.8 mark, but still below average. Though Cabrera was limited by a left knee injury last season, his -6.8 RngR in 2013 was actually better than his current -10.4, which is a bit puzzling. Cabrera's arm has been largely responsible for the small recovery he has made in defensive value this year, illustrated by a 3.5 ARM number that has rebounded from a -1 mark in 2013.

Cabrera, once a solid defensive center fielder with the Yankees, was hampered in 2013 by a tumor on his spinal cord that team doctors thought was related to his various leg ailments. Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos wondered for how long and to what degree the tumor was limiting Cabrera.

"It didn’t make any sense for someone who has played centre [sic] field quite a bit to all of a sudden have the weakness in his legs that he was having and moving the way he was. . . I’m not glad that we found something, but I’m glad it can be corrected and we should be good to go," said Anthopoulos.

It's strange that Cabrera's RngR decreased after surgery, but given the consensus between team doctors and management that a spinal cord tumor was affecting Cabrera's level of play, it's prudent to wait and see how he performs in the future before declaring that he's done being a passable defender.

After compensating for 10% annual inflation, Dave Cameron's rough estimate of $6 million per win last offseason will be closer to $6.6 million this year, which means that Melky would need to produce about nine wins to be "worth" a contract like Granderson's. Fifteen million dollars per year seems high for a player who would likely cost a first-round pick, so let's use Kyle Matte's $12.8 million projected annual salary instead, which is based on Cabrera's cumulative three-year WAR. If Melky receives a four-year, $51.2 million contract, he would have to produce at least 7.7 WAR to justify the signing, which he is capable of doing if he can keep up his 2014 level of production.

Melky's injury history, PED suspension, and probable qualifying offer make him an uncertain acquisition, but he's still one of the better options in a weak free agent class. He just turned 30 in August, so he's two years younger than Granderson was when he signed with the Mets. Cabrera's baserunning has recovered in 2014 after hitting a low point in a 2013 season marred by leg injuries. If nothing else, Melky could add some stability to the top of the Mets' lineup, as he has all year for the Blue Jays.

With outfield prospects like Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo, the Mets might choose to avoid signing another free agent outfielder, especially if Cabrera rejects a qualifying offer and the team's first-round pick isn't protected. If the Mets do finish with one of the 10 worst records in baseball, they might find it hard to watch Cabrera sign a below-market-value contract with another team.

Two similar pitchers with similar last names.

It was the best of times in Kansas City. Playoffs are more than just a pipedream. The team is winning. October baseball is on the horizon.

It wasn't exactly the worst of times in Chicago. Playoffs are definitely out, but there is a bright future for Cubs fans. In addition, the team has shown signs that they can win now, and somehow Theo Epstein seems to find pitching wherever he looks.

These two teams are completely unrelated, except for the titular characters. This season, the Cubs have found a nice, young piece for the future in Kyle Hendricks. His strikeout rate is all kinds of terrible, but he gets a lot of ground balls and limits home runs. That can get you far.

The Royals acquired Liam Hendriks in a trade with Toronto this season. Liam Hendriks, while still being fairly young, has more experience but a poorer track record. There is still time for him to figure things out, though.

The differences between the two pitchers go beyond the single letter difference of the name. Observe.

Both lines represent their career stats. The things that Kyle Hendricks does well are things that Liam Hendriks does not do well; Liam Hendriks has given up lots of home runs and is a fly ball guy. Liam has also been unlucky a bit so far, but that's what happens when you're a fly ball pitcher pitching in front of poor outfield defenses (Twins, Blue Jays). Hopefully, Kansas City can solve this problem.

You might be wondering why I'm comparing these two pitchers; simply a name does not a comparison warrant. There's more to it. The two fellows share very similar repertoires. Both players throw a four seam, sinker, changeup, and curveball. Liam mixes in a slider while Kyle mixes a cutter, but those two pitches are only a few degrees of supination from each other. With similar repertoires from the right side, how have the pitchers become so different in their stat lines?

It's all about the changeup. Ahead in the count, Kyle breaks out his changeup, especially with two strikes. This year, the pitch has a 21.5% whiff rate, but when batters do make contact, they hit only .158/.246 (BA/SLG), which is pretty bad. Hendricks also shows great control of the pitch with a 29.5% ball rate.

Hendriks, on the other hand, ramps up his four seam fastball when he's ahead in the count against LHH. He keeps a steady mix throughout against RHH, but he relies on his four seam fastball the most. That pitch is a hittable pitch with batters slashing .273/.397 against it and whiffing only 7% of the time. Liam's changeup is not nearly as good as Kyle's (.306/.486, ~6% whiffs), and he has more difficulty throwing it for strikes. Liam's best pitch for limiting hard contact is the curve, but he can't control the pitch (55% ball rate).

It may be the best of times in Kansas City right now, but Kyle Hendricks is a guy who is helping the Cubs now and for the foreseeable future, while Liam Hendriks is probably a spot starter/long relief guy. A good changeup is a valuable thing.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and Brooks Baseball.

Kevin Ruprecht is an Editor of Beyond the Box Score. He also writes at Royals Review. You can follow him on Twitter at @KevinRuprecht.

The Chicago Cubs venture north (more north than the northside of Chicago) this week to take on the Blue Jays in a rare interleague series between the two teams. The Cubs currently sit at 64-79 in the basement of NL Central, but the team is stacked with prospects and there's a good chance that their record gets flipped around in the very near future. Feast your eyes on this team:

via MLB.com Depth Charts

Unfortunately for Theo Epstein and the Cubs, the pitching lags far behind the hitting as seen with their less than stellar starting rotation. Tonight sees Marcus Stroman take on former top prospect Justin Turner who has looked okay since coming to Chicago last month from Miami. Turner was originally drafted ninth overall by Detroit in 2009 before going to Miami in the Anibal Sanchez deal without ever getting a fair shot to succeed with the Tigers. Some high BABIP seasons led to big ERA's with the Marlins and he went to Chicago exactly one month ago.

The righty is still just 23-years-old, but doesn't get enough strikeouts to survive on a BABIP that is consistently in the mid-.300's. The Missourian throws the four main pitches and chucks his fastballs in the mid-90's, although his strikeout rate is a pretty constant 15%. Against right-handers Turner reverts to a sinker and slider combination, while he lets all of his pitches loose against lefties. Until Justin Turner starts pitching better he's just another Chicago Cub with a lot of potential.

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Jose Bautista RF
3. Edwin Encarnacion 1B
4. Adam Lind DH
5. Dioner Navarro C
6. Danny Valencia 3B
7. Kevin Pillar LF
8. Ryan Goins 2B
9. Dalton Pompey CF

Bullpen Usage

The Cubs head back on the road for six games and start out with their final interleague games of the year against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Just as a quick review of the past four series against the division: In the last 13 games against the NL Central the Cubs ended up with a 6-7 record, winning their series against Milwaukee, splitting against St. Louis, and losing against Cincinnati (of course) and Pittsburgh. All in all, I feel pretty happy about that. Next year, though, that mark will need to improve some. Even a couple of games would do.

For now, however, it's time for a small break from divisional play as the Cubs finish off their interleague games for 2014 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Back on July 2 Toronto was 47-39 and had a one-game lead in the AL East; since that time they have sputtered around .500, going 26-30 and falling to 10 games back in the division thanks to the 55-32 clip posted by the Baltimore Orioles since that date. Toronto is also five games back in the Wild Card race and with four teams to leapfrog to get to the second Wild Card spot, things are looking pretty bleak for them.

This series will be the fourth ever between the Cubs and the Blue Jays. The last time the Cubs played against them was in 2008 and they won two games out of three in that series at Rogers Centre. The Cubs have a 4-5 record lifetime against the Blue Jays and are 3-3 in Toronto.

LIKELY PITCHING MATCHUPS:

Monday: Jacob Turner (1-1, 3.14 ERA, 1.256 WHIP) vs. Marcus Stroman (9-5, 3.83 ERA, 1.221 WHIP)
Tuesday:Jake Arrieta (8-5, 2.81 ERA, 1.057 WHIP) vs. Mark Buehrle (11-9, 3.34 ERA, 1.377 WHIP)
Wednesday:Kyle Hendricks (6-1, 2.02 ERA, 1.059 WHIP) vs. Drew Hutchison (9-11, 4.47 ERA, 1.270 WHIP)

Pitching has been the weakness for the Blue Jays compared to their counterparts in the AL East.  They have a team ERA of 4.10 and WHIP of 1.343, both of which rank 11th inthe American League and worst in their division. Their bullpen fares a bit worse in each category, ranking 13th inERA (4.23) and 12th in WHIP (1.375) with rookie Aaron Sanchez being the best of the bunch.  In 17 appearances, he has allowed only 12 hits and four walks in just under 25 innings of work and has only allowed a run in three of those appearances.

THE OFFENSE:

The Blue Jays offense features four starters whose OPS is at or above .750:

• Jose Bautista, RF, .925
• Edwin Encarnacion, 1B, .906
• Adam Lind, DH, .849
• Juan Francisco, 3B, .757

Hitting, on the other hand, has been plentiful for the Blue Jays. They are fourth in the American League in average (.260) and second in OPS (.742), topping the AL East in both categories as well. The offense did suffer a setback with the loss of Melky Cabrera (.808 OPS) for the rest of the season. He fractured his right pinky finger on September 5 and will need surgery to repair it. It will be up to Anthony Gose (.617 OPS) and Kevin Pillar (.563) to try and fill the gap the rest of the way.

The list on the Cubs' side (with last two weeks in parentheses):

• Jorge Soler, 1.200 (1.200)
• Logan Watkins, .875 (.943)
• Chris Coghlan, .783 (.798)
• Luis Valbuena, .777 (1.059)

There are no changes in the over-.750 club for the Cubs in this series, the first time that the list has remained the same in quite some time. Given that the next name down the list is Welington Castillo at .684, it's likely that this quartet will be the last group to see the club this season, barring an unbelievable hot streak by someone.

GAME PROJECTIONS:

Game 1: It has been a pretty impressive season for Stroman, the Blue Jays' first round draft pick from 2012. After four starts in the month of July in which he allowed a total of one run things have gotten a little more hit-and-miss with three starts in which he has allowed two runs or less and three in which he has allowed five runs or more. This will be the first time that Turner has ever faced the Blue Jays, and hopefully he will be able to build on the strong start he had in his last outing against Milwaukee.

Game 2: On the other side of the coin, this will be the 16th time that Buehrle has faced the Cubs. The last time he pitched against them was on July 19, 2012 when he was with Miami; the Cubs won that game 4-2. He pitched a gem in his last outing against Tampa Bay to offset five straight starts in which he had allowed three runs or more with game scores under 50 in each start. Arrieta's last start against the Blue Jays was on May 29, 2012, and you probably don't want to look at that box score. But as we all know, this is not the 2012 Jake Arrieta.

Game 3: Hutchison has also been streaky as of late; after two bad starts in mid-August in which he allowed a total of 13 runs, he has allowed only four over his next three starts including seven innings of one-hit ball against the Yankees on August 30. Hendricks' last start was a little iffy, allowing nine hits over 5⅔ innings but walking away with only two runs allowed. He now has nine starts in a row in which he has allowed two runs or less, eight if you choose not to include the two-inning outing against Baltimore.

RUSS' PREDICTION: Back to default mode. 1-2. Because, after all, it's default mode.

NEXT STOP: The Cubs will get their last chance at redemption this season against the Pittsburgh Pirates after the sweep from last weekend.

Jeff Blair has a post up asking why the Blue Jays haven't signed Melky Cabrera yet. It is a good question. I can understand them wanting to see him play it to the end of the season, but, now, his season is over, why not get it done?

There are a couple of points that Blair games that I'd question:

He says that Melky "had played solid defense". Now, your view of solid and mine might be a different thing. I think Melky has been much much better than last year, which is understandable since he was carrying around a tumor with him last year. And I do think Melky really looked like he was working hard out there, especially the last month or so. But FanGraphs has him at a -5.3 UZR/150, which matches what my eyes tell me. He's not exactly great with the glove. 'Solid' would be an exaggeration in my mind.

I don't think he'll get getting any better than what he is now. He's 30 now, I think there is a move to DH in his future. But, compared to last year, he's Willie Mays out there.

Blair also says:

He has been the organization's most consistent offensive performer

Well, I don't know. Melky's OPS by month:

April: .935

May: .735

June: .751

July: .956

August: .714

We'll ignore the 4 games he played in September. Slugging by month ranges from .387 in August to .567 in April. He's been good, but he hasn't been any more consistent than anyone else.

Blair has an interesting bit:

At least one National League team has had one, sometimes two scouts following the Blue Jays for three weeks, focusing on Cabrera. One of those scouts said he thought his team would do a four-year deal for Cabrera - something approximating shortstop Jhonny Peralta's four-year, $53-million contract signed last winter with the St. Louis Cardinals.

If I was an NL team, I don't think I'd be wanting to offer him 4 years, since they can't put him in at DH. It might be just me, but I'd be worried about what his defense will be like at age 34. Blair does suggest a more front loaded contract.

Fangraphs has Melky at a 2.5 WAR for this season. Considering that the most likely internal replacement for Melky is Kevin Pillar, who I'd rather be used as a 4th outfielder/platoon partner with Anthony Gose than an everyday left fielder, I'd like to have Melky back. There isn't much for good outfielders coming up as free agents this off-season, so Melky would likely be much wanted on the free agent market.

If I'm the Blue Jays, I guess I'd offer a 2-year deal, hitting around the $15 to $16 million a season area, considering the Qualifying Offer will be something like $15 million this off-season. I'd offer him about $32 million over 2 years and see where that goes. I think it is a fair offer, I guess we'd see if he does really want to stay or not. I'd likely go 3 years if I had to, but I doubt I'd go four.

What would you offer Melky?

There is a bit of news, just as I was about to hit post. Melky and Chad Jenkins each had surgery on their injured fingers this morning. Melky was put on the DL today, not that it really matters with the roster expanded.

Monday's game threads are all right here.

TORONTO -- The Cubs and Blue Jays are like the proverbial ships passing in the night. They have met three times, twice in Cubs division-winning years (2003 and 2008) and once when neither team was relevant (2005). The Jays, in fact, have been an afterthought most of the time since their last World Series appearance in 1992, which is also their last playoff year. They were supposed to be a serious contender this year, and occupied first place in the A.L. East from late May through early July.

They're still in contention, sort of; they've got an outside shot at the second wild card, but they need to start winning right now, and the Cubs, who have done a number on a couple of contenders already, would love to put the Jays' season to bed, in this final interleague series for the Cubs this year. The Cubs are 9-8 so far in interleague, so a series win would also mean a winning interleague record for the second straight season (they were, inexplicably, 13-5 vs. the A.L. in the 96-loss mess that was 2013).

Overall in the three series, the Blue Jays have won five games and the Cubs four; the Cubs took two of three in their last visit to Canada in 2008.

And what's the deal with the game time at :07? Cubs games scheduled for :05 after the hour often have the first pitch at :07 after, and no one really notices. Unless the :07 thing is a sponsored time, there's no real reason to not have it as :05. Josh emailed me that they leave the extra two minutes to sing both National Anthems, but couldn't they just start two minutes earlier?

One thing I know I'm grateful for in this series: being able to attend three games without worrying about the weather.

Please check out Russ La Croix' excellent series preview if you have not already done so.

Finally, here's your once-a-series reminder to check out (if you haven't already) SB Nation's partner fantasy site, Fan Duel, where you can win real money. Here's the link.

On to today's particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Bonifacio CF, Lake LF, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Schierholtz RF, Barney 2B, Samardzija P

Pirates lineup:

Bonifacio CF, Lake LF, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Schierholtz RF, Barney 2B, Samardzija P

Today's Starting Pitchers

Jacob Turner Cubs vs. Marcus Stroman Blue Jays vs. Tor -- vs. Cubs

Interestingly enough, for a pitcher who was in the American League for two years and then in the N.L. East for two more, Jacob Turner has never faced the Blue Jays and has faced just a handful of players on their active roster (4-for-17, one home run by Juan Francisco). Turner was solid in his last start, showing some of the form that made him the Tigers' No. 1 pick in 2009. Keep up the good work.

When the Cubs were shopping around Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, Toronto was rumored to be one of the landing spots for one or both and one of the pitchers many people here wanted in return was Marcus Stroman. Tonight, we'll all get to see him pitch for the Blue Jays, where he's put up pretty good numbers in 22 appearances (17 starts) this year. Since he was moved to the rotation after the five relief outings, he's posted a 3.26 ERA and 1.158 WHIP and that includes two consecutive starts last month in which he combined for 11 runs allowed in five innings. He's good, obviously, and has never faced the Cubs nor anyone on the roster.

This is a really intriguing matchup between two young pitchers, both 23 years old, who could be among MLB's best over the next few years.

Today's game is on WGN.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Blue Jays site Bluebird Banter.

For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The Cubs will hear two national anthems before a game for the first time in six years.

TORONTO -- The Cubs and Blue Jays are like the proverbial ships passing in the night. They have met three times, twice in Cubs division-winning years (2003 and 2008) and once when neither team was relevant (2005). The Jays, in fact, have been an afterthought most of the time since their last World Series appearance in 1992, which is also their last playoff year. They were supposed to be a serious contender this year, and occupied first place in the A.L. East from late May through early July.

They're still in contention, sort of; they've got an outside shot at the second wild card, but they need to start winning right now. The Cubs, who seriously hurt the Brewers' postseason hopes, would love to put the Jays' season to bed, in this final interleague series for the Cubs this year. The Cubs are 9-8 so far in interleague play, so a series win would also mean a winning interleague record for the second straight season (they were, inexplicably, 13-5 vs. the A.L. in the 96-loss mess that was 2013).

Overall in the three series, the Blue Jays have won five games and the Cubs four; the Cubs took two of three in their last visit to Canada in 2008.

And what's the deal with the game time at :07? Cubs games scheduled for :05 after the hour often have the first pitch at :07 after, and no one really notices. Unless the :07 thing is a sponsored time, there's no real reason to not have it as :05. Josh emailed me that they leave the extra two minutes to sing both National Anthems, but couldn't they just start two minutes earlier?

One thing I know I'm grateful for in this series: being able to attend three games without worrying about the weather.

Please check out Russ La Croix' excellent series preview if you have not already done so.

Finally, here's your once-a-series reminder to check out (if you haven't already) SB Nation's partner fantasy site, Fan Duel, where you can win real money. Here's the link.

On to today's particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Coghlan LF, Baez SS, Valbuena DH, Soler RF, Castillo C, Olt 1B, Alcantara CF, Watkins 2B, Valaika 3B

Today it's Luis Valbuena serving as DH. I'm guessing we'll see Jorge Soler at that spot before this series is over.

Pirates lineup:

Reyes SS, Bautista RF, Encarnacion DH, Lind 1B, Navarro C, Valencia 3B, Pillar LF, Goins 2B, Gose CF

Today's Starting Pitchers

Jacob Turner Cubs vs. Marcus Stroman Blue Jays vs. Tor -- vs. Cubs

Interestingly enough, for a pitcher who was in the American League for two years and then in the N.L. East for two more, Jacob Turner has never faced the Blue Jays and has faced just a handful of players on their active roster (4-for-17, one home run by Juan Francisco). Turner was solid in his last start, showing some of the form that made him the Tigers' No. 1 pick in 2009. Keep up the good work.

When the Cubs were shopping around Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, Toronto was rumored to be one of the landing spots for one or both and one of the pitchers many people here wanted in return was Marcus Stroman. Tonight, we'll all get to see him pitch for the Blue Jays, where he's put up pretty good numbers in 22 appearances (17 starts) this year. Since he was moved to the rotation after the five relief outings, he's posted a 3.26 ERA and 1.158 WHIP and that includes two consecutive starts last month in which he combined for 11 runs allowed in five innings. He's good, obviously, and has never faced the Cubs nor anyone on the roster.

This is a really intriguing matchup between two young pitchers, both 23 years old, who could be among MLB's best over the next few years.

Today's game is on WGN.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Blue Jays site Bluebird Banter.

For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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The harvest moon was bright and round over the Rogers Centre Monday night as the Blue Jays hosted he Chicago Cubs. Marcus Stroman was dealing and the fast-paced game reached the middle of the seventh inning by eight o'clock. A proud Blue Jays seventh-inning stretch tradition is the singing of "OK Blue Jays"--rather than appealing to a deity to act favourably on a country that uses the name of a continent to refer to themselves--before "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

During the song, J Force--the Blue Jays' dance team--leads the fans in a simple dance that involves some clapping and some fist pumping. On Monday, Colby Rasmus, who has been with Toronto since mid-2011, showed that he knew those moves too:

Seeing Rasmus participating in this piece of Blue Jays culture while sitting on the bench during what may be his last days as a Blue Jay just breaks my heart.

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Blue Jays 8 Cubs 0

That was what I would consider a fairly enjoyable experience. The Blue Jays absolutely routed the Cubs in the opener of this three-game series at the Rogers Centre on the back of a monster pitching performance by young Marcus Stroman. The victory pulled the Blue Jays level with the New York Yankees in the wild card race and brought Toronto's record to 74-69 on the season.

The game began with starter Marcus Stroman nearly losing his noggin, which would have been lame (aside from the fact that he wouldn't have a head) because he wouldn't have been able to go on and pitch a complete game shutout.

The Duke grad went the full nine allowing essentially zilch to the power-heavy Cubs lineup. His final line was three hits with no earned runs allowed on eight strikeouts with zero free passes. The most impressive part is that he did this by throwing just 93 nasty pitches. In fact, superstar prospect Javier Baez was unable to even get the ball out of the infield against the small righty, which was aided by a ridiculous bare-handed play by Ryan Goins to end the game.

The offence didn't need to score eight runs with the way Stroman was pitching, but they did anyway. The action got started in the second inning when Danny Valencia brought home Adam Lind on a single right up the middle.

The fourth inning brought another run when Dioner Navarro picked up a sac fly RBI that scored Edwin Encarnacion. Things kicked off even more in the fifth when Ryan Goins and Anthony Gose got on base before Jose Bautista hit his 200th home run as a Blue Jays player which was also his 32nd of the season.

Dan Straily replaced Jacob Turner to start the seventh and was welcomed to the game by a Kevin Pillar double that brought up Ryan Goins. Logan Watkins then preceded to make a proper mess of the soft groundball hit by the Blue Jays second baseman allowing Pillar to come around to score and make it 6-0 for Toronto. Visual proof of Watkins' showing how not to play baseball is at this link.

The eighth inning saw the last two runs of the game scored after back-to-back doubles by Adam Lind and Dioner Navarro made it 7-0, followed by Kevin Pillar bringing around the former Cubs catcher in Navarro.

Standout performances from the Blue Jays hitters include:

• Jose Bautista going 1-3 with a walk and his big three-run home run.
• Adam Lind going 2-4 as well as scoring a run.
• Dioner Navarro continuing his hot streak going 2-3 with 2 RBI.
• Kevin Pillar going 2-4, bringing his average up to .250.

That was a poor exhibition of baseball by the Cubs. But at least it was quick.

TORONTO -- Driving into Canada Monday morning, I had no hassles at all. There was no line at the border crossing between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario; a few cursory questions and off I went.

The Cubs, apparently, either had their bats confiscated or simply forgot them at Customs, because their offense simply failed to show up in an 8-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in the Cubs' first game in Canada in six years. It was the 16th time the Cubs had been shut out this year, equaling the total of blankings in both 2012 and 2013, with 18 games remaining in 2014.

Chris Coghlan hit Marcus Stroman's first pitch right back at him; it glanced off Stroman's glove, knocking him to the ground. Fortunately for the Blue Jays, at least, it bounced right to shortstop Jose Reyes, who threw Coghlan out.

Stroman got up and was smiling and laughing; doing that apparently just made him mad. The Cubs had just three singles on the night and after Jorge Soler got the Cubs' first hit leading off the second inning, Stroman retired 20 in a row before Mike Olt singled with two out in the eighth. Chris Valaika got the Cubs' only other hit, a one-out single in the ninth. Stroman recorded 14 outs on ground balls and struck out eight and it was easy to see why many people here wanted the Cubs to try to trade for him. Clearly, he's not going anywhere, at least not until the Jays can't afford to keep him. For the 23-year-old Stroman, it was his 18th big-league start and first complete game and shutout.

Jacob Turner pitched on the edge all evening. He gave up a run in the second inning after an error by Logan Watkins, usually a good fielder, and another in the third. He gave up a pair of singles in the fourth and nearly got out of the inning, but Jose Bautista put the game far out of reach with a no-doubt-about-it three-run homer. Turner wasn't bad, but he wasn't really good, either; the six-inning, four-earned-run appearance is what we usually call an "Edwin Jackson start."

The rest of the game was a pro-forma exercise in baseball, since it was pretty clear the Cubs weren't going to score any runs. Most of the Cubs went down on very few hits; Stroman threw just 93 pitches, the same number as Turner threw in six innings. Dan Straily was summoned to relieve Turner to begin the seventh inning and he got cuffed around a little. Watkins made another error in booting a ball and really, he probably should have been charged with two errors as his attempt to throw out Ryan Goins popped in the air right next to him, allowing a run to score. In the next inning, back-to-back doubles scored another run. Amazingly enough, the Cubs then let our old friend Dioner Navarro, perhaps the slowest runner in baseball, score from second on a single.

You know how I often complain about Rick Renteria's incessant pitching changes? Monday night, he might have made the most meaningless change of the year when, down eight runs with two out in the bottom of the eighth, he brought in Zac Rosscup to face Anthony Gose. Seriously? What's the purpose of that? The platoon advantage? It can't be getting work for Rosscup, as he pitched just three days earlier and is going to face only one hitter, who he did wind up striking out. This one took RR's pitching-change fetish to an extreme. All it accomplished was preventing this game from being the shortest of the year; the two or three minutes it took for RR to stride, looking purposeful, to the mound put this one in the books as third-shortest at two hours, 20 minutes, mercifully short.

I was a little bit surprised to see the Rogers Centre roof open when I arrived, as it was predicted to be a coolish evening, but the Jays explain in their program that they try to keep the roof open unless it's going to be unusually cold, windy or if there's a forecast of rain. Turned out to be quite pleasant and no issue to having the open roof; hope they'll be able to do it the rest of the series.

Being in Canada is ... the same, but different. Everyone speaks the same language, with the charming slight differences many Americans like to try to imitate ("oot" and "aboot"), and from the cool-looking plastic money to the French-language signs everywhere to the people who are unfailingly polite and friendly, Toronto is just as enjoyable as I remember it from my last visit, which was for the Cubs series six years ago. I'll have more on Toronto as a tourist destination later in the week as I intend to stay here for a day after the series ends to have a better look around before I head to a wedding I've been invited to in Michigan next weekend on my way back to Chicago. I might even take in a film as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, which is going on this week and has this city absolutely buzzing; the streets were incredibly crowded Monday afternoon when I arrived and you can tell riding the subway around that there are people here from all over the world.

The smallish crowd at the game included some Cubs fans, but not nearly as many as were here in 2008, the Cubs' last visit. You can surely understand the reasons for that. Perhaps the Cubs will put on a better performance of baseball Tuesday evening, when Jake Arrieta faces another longtime Cubs rival, Mark Buehrle.

The second game of the interleague series with the Cubs gets underway tonight at 7:07 as the Blue Jays send Mark Buehrle to the hill against Cubs starter Jake Arrieta. The righty from Missouri has been Chicago's most valuable starter this year and will enter his first year of arbitration eligibility after this season. If you'll recall, Arrieta was traded to the Cubs by Baltimore last year along with Pedro Strop for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger. He hadn't been good in Baltimore so it's hard to question them too much, but Arrieta has been a steal for Theo Epstein and the Cubs.

The Cubs starter has a 2.81 ERA in 2014 along with a 2.43 FIP thanks to a 25.9% K-rate. He throws hard (mid-90's) mixing in changeups, sliders (more of a cutter), and curveballs to go along with his sinker and four-seam fastball. The cutter/slider is his most-used secondary pitch and he throws it in the lower 90's with nasty movement:

via baseballprof

Against righties that's basically the only place that Arrieta throws the pitch, rarely venturing inside or up in the zone:

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Jose Bautista RF
3. Edwin Encarnacion DH
4. Adam Lind 1B
5. Dioner Navarro C
6. Danny Valencia 3B
7. Kevin Pillar LF
   
8. Ryan Goins 2B
9. Dalton Pompey CF

Bullpen Usage

If you seek Tuesday's game threads, you have come to the right place.

Cubs lineup:

Bonifacio CF, Lake LF, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Schierholtz RF, Barney 2B, Samardzija P

Pirates lineup:

Bonifacio CF, Lake LF, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Schierholtz RF, Barney 2B, Samardzija P

Today's game is on CSN Chicago.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Blue Jays site Bluebird Banter.

For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Perhaps the Cubs will score some runs tonight!

TORONTO -- Today marks exactly 49 years since the Cubs were last no-hit; that famous game, Sandy Koufax's perfect game, is also the lowest combined hit total for two teams in one game in major-league history. The Cubs' Bob Hendley threw a one-hitter, and the hit had nothing to do with the Dodgers' run in their 1-0 win; L.A. scored on a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a steal and a throwing error. It was the second time the Cubs had been no-hit in three weeks; Jim Maloney of the Reds did it August 19, 1965 at Wrigley Field in the first game of a doubleheader, the last visiting pitcher to throw one there.

The no-no-hit streak now stands at a record 7,807 games going into tonight. If you don't follow the terrific @cubsnohitstreak Twitter account, you should.

Note about tonight's game: The loss Monday night dropped the Cubs to .500 (9-9) in interleague play this year. A win tonight would assure the Cubs of at least an even split with American League teams in 2014.

Note about the coming weekend:Travis Wood is having his start pushed back, so Jacob Turner will start against the Pirates Sunday in Pittsburgh, and Wood will go against the Reds Monday at Wrigley Field.

Site note: posting of images in comments is temporarily disabled, per a note we received from SB Nation support. I'll let you know when it's back.

Cubs lineup:

Coghlan LF, Baez SS, Soler RF, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Olt DH, Alcantara 2B, Valaika 1B, Szczur CF

I don't usually make a big deal about complaining about lineups, but consider this: IF you are going to have Mike Olt and Chris Valaika in the same lineup, why is the worse defensive player of the two playing the field?

Blue Jays lineup:

Reyes SS, Bautista RF, Encarnacion 1B, Lind DH, Navarro C, Valencia 3B, Pillar LF, Goins 2B, Gose CF

Today's Starting Pitchers

Jake Arrieta Cubs vs. Mark Buehrle Blue Jays vs. Tor -- vs. Cubs

Despite the fact that these two teams haven't met in six years, both starting pitchers tonight are quite familiar with their opponent.

Jake Arrieta has made six career appearances (five starts) against the Blue Jays with a 6.00 ERA and three starts at the Rogers Centre with an even higher ERA, 7.33. However, it's been more than two years since he's faced Toronto and this is a new Arrieta. Right?

Well, probably. No current member of the Blue Jays has more than 10 at-bats against Arrieta, and the one who does -- Melky Cabrera -- is 0-for-10. Overall current Jays are 10-for-67 (.149) against Arrieta, who had a good outing in his last start against the Brewers.

Cubs fans are quite familiar with Mark Buehrle from his many years with the White Sox, during which he made 13 starts against the Cubs; he also started two games against them while with the Marlins in 2012. Because of the roster turnover and injuries, only three current Cubs -- Chris Coghlan (who was a Marlins teammate of Buehrle's as well), Luis Valbuena and Ryan Kalish -- have ever faced him.

Buehrle is having a decent season, but it was better before the All-Star break. Since then he has posted a 6.20 ERA and 1.820 WHIP in eight starts covering only 40⅔ innings. Even this injury-depleted Cubs team ought to be able to hit him.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Blue Jays site Bluebird Banter.

For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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