This could be the 2015 National League wild-card matchup once October rolls around. The Chicago Cubs (58-48) will host the World Series champion San Francisco Giants (59-48) on Thursday night to kick off a four-game set at Wrigley Field.
The matchup between the Cubs and Giants is expected to be one of the better series the MLB will feature over the weekend as these two clubs will battle for favorable positioning in the playoff race. The Cubs will send Jason Hammel to the mound at 8:05 p.m. ET to face Chris Heston of the San Francisco Giants.
Scroll to the bottom of the page for the live stream and radio broadcast for tonight's game.
These two teams have yet to face one another this year.
Hammel (6-5 , 3.13 ERA) is looking to get back on track after suffering a hamstring injury against the St. Louis Cardinals in early July. The 32-year-old is 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA and 1.74 WHIP in three starts following the injury, including a horrid outing against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 26.
In 10 career games (nine starts) against San Francisco, Hammel is 0-3 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. He'll be tasked with facing a talented Giants' lineup, which, even without second baseman Joe Panik, is coming off of an offensive surge against the Atlanta Braves. They scored 22 runs in three games earlier this week and sit a half-game ahead of the Cubs for the second wild-card spot.
On the other hand, Heston (11-5, 3.24 ERA) will go up against a Cubs' offense that has been experiencing some offensive woes since the All-Star break. Cubs' third baseman Kris Bryant is batting .147 since July 18 and shortstop Starlin Castro continues to struggle (.238/.274/.307) in the worst offensive stretch/season of his career. However, others such as Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber have stepped up big to facilitate run scoring.
Heston, 27, has been a big surprise in the MLB this season and after filling in nicely when fellow starters Matt Cain and Jake Peavy were out for a while with injuries. He now earned himself a full-time job in the rotation and gained league-wide recognition when he threw a no-hitter against the New York Mets back in June. The right-hander has never faced the Cubs in his young career (24 total games).
He hasn't been handed a loss since June 14 and is 5-0 in eight starts since then.
He'll be backed by the hot-hitting Buster Posey (batting .449 in his last 19 games) and Matt Duffy (batting .383 in his last 21 games).
Click here for the live stream of tonight's game and check out the radio broadcast here (CHC) or here (SF).
