Chicago Cubs vs. Sacramento Athletics preview, Monday 3/31, 9:05 CT

There’s a chance of rain in the Sacramento area tonight so here’s the local radar to keep handy:

Monday notes:

TOO MANY RUNS: The 37 runs allowed by the Cubs so far this season is tied for their 12th most through six games of any season since 1901. It is their third most after 1984, surpassed only by 46 in 2019 and 44 in 2000. Their most ever was 57 in 1901. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
NOT HITTING THE RIGHTIES: So far this year, the Cubs have a .594 OPS vs. RHP (173 PA) and .767 vs. LHP (58 PA).
WALKING THE WALK: Cubs pitchers lead MLB in walks with 30, averaging five per game. Cubs hitters are second in MLB with 23 walks (Pirates lead with 25).
TIME HAS COME TODAY: The Cubs had 10 nine-inning games of 2:59 or longer all of last year, out of 150 total nine-inning games. They’ve already had two this year, in six total games.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Athletics lineup:

Ben Brown, RHP vs. Joey Estes, RHP

Ben Brown got hit pretty hard by the Dodgers in Tokyo, though he did strike out five of the 15 Dodgers he faced.

Oddly, Brown also got hit hard by the defending World Series champions in his first 2024 start, that team being the Texas Rangers.

So maybe once that’s out of the way he can throw better. He’s never faced the A’s or anyone on their active roster.

Joey Estes got pounded by Cubs hitters Sept. 16, 2024 at Wrigley Field — nine hits and six runs in a bit more than one inning of work, including a three-run homer by Dansby Swanson.

That came after an 11-appearance run in which he put together a 3.26 ERA. So maybe Cubs hitters have his number? Hope so.

Brown’s chart below is from his one appearance this year. Estes’ is from 2024.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. You can find out if Marquee is available via a provider in your area here.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation A’s site Athletics Nation. If you do go there to interact with A’s fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2025 Game Thread procedure will be identical to last year’s.

You’ll find the game preview posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.

You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.