The Houston Astros are heading to Chicago for a three game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field starting Friday. After dropping the series finale against the Twins, the Astros will be looking to bounce back on the road.
The Cubs come into this series at 29-21 and sitting third in the NL Central. They have had their own struggles recently, dropping games to the Brewers and White Sox, so this is far from an unwinnable series for Houston.
The Astros are sitting at 20-31 and have been one of the most injury plagued teams in baseball this season. The pitching staff has taken the biggest hit, and with Lance McCullers Jr. now on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, the rotation is thinner than ever. How the Astros piece together their rotation for this series will be one of the biggest storylines heading into the weekend.
Despite all of that, the Astros have shown they can win when the pitching shows up. Spencer Arrighetti has been a bright spot this season and is set to start the first game of the series. With Arrighetti on the mound the Astros have a shot to start the series with a win.
Yordan Alvarez continues to be one of the best hitters in baseball and the lineup has enough pieces to put runs on the board. The key as always is the pitching holding things together long enough for the offense to do its job.
A series win at Wrigley would be a big boost for a team that desperately needs momentum.
