{"id":65414,"date":"2025-08-22T21:57:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T00:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/time-to-focus-on-winning\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T21:57:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T00:57:14","slug":"time-to-focus-on-winning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/time-to-focus-on-winning\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to Focus on Winning"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Cubs vs Angels<\/strong> \u2014 Well, the Cubs came (at least) one win over the Brewers short of forcing themselves back into the division race. So we march on, with our eyes and hopes set on claiming the top Wild Card slot. And to that end, they have just a one-game lead over the Padres with 34 games remaining. <\/p>\n

The first nine of those games will be played on this coming West Coast road trip that begins tonight in Los Angeles against the Angels. Sadly (or maybe it\u2019s for the best), the Cubs are not expected to face Kyle Hendricks, who\u2019s scheduled to next pitch on Monday. <\/p>\n

Instead, they\u2019ll get a supremely struggling left-hander, Tyler Anderson, a flame-throwing righty, Jose Soriano, and a 24-year-old Victor Mederos. Compared to the pitching they saw against Milwaukee, these are very soft matchups for the Cubs offense. So it\u2019s high time they break out their big bats again. <\/p>\n

The big question this weekend, of course, will be surrounding Kyle Tucker and Owen Caissie, to see who gets what sort of playing time. My best guess is that Caissie will not start against the lefty and will probably get only one of the other two starts against the righties. <\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s a case to be made that he should shuffle in once in right field for Kyle Tucker, who\u2019s obviously still not right, and once at DH for Seiya Suzuki, who\u2019s also not hitting well right now. Like, at all (75 wRC+ in the second half of the season). <\/p>\n

The next big topic of the weekend is whether or not we\u2019ll see Cade Horton, who had to exit his last start early with a blister. There was some hope that he would make a quick return this weekend, but I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s been fully decided and\/or publicly announced yet. <\/p>\n

Jameson Taillon will also get his second start coming off the IL, following an absolutely dominant first game back against the Brewers (all things considered). <\/p>\n

I suspect we\u2019ll see Matt Shaw all weekend, and perhaps he\u2019ll even move up in the lineup tonight against the lefty. <\/p>\n

But bottom line: It\u2019s time to stop worrying about the Brewers and just focus on winning as many games as possible. <\/p>\n

Cubs vs Angels \u2013 Pitching Probables:<\/h2>\n

Game 1<\/strong>: Friday, August 22 at 8:38 PM CT at Angel Stadium
Broadcast Info:<\/strong>\u00a0Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score<\/p>\n