The Cubs will look to turn around a frustrating trend of faring poorly against struggling pitchers as they face Vince Velasquez and the Phillies tonight. Unlike Bronson Arroyo and Steven Wright, though, Velasquez isn’t going up there throwing in the 60’s and 70’s. His fastball sits in the mid-90’s and his change is up around 88-89 mph, all of which is actually a lot more in the Cubs’ wheelhouse.
The home team should have a little fun with their opponent’s 5+ walks per 9 innings, not to mention the longballs he’s prone to giving up. In four starts this season, Velasquez has been tagged for at least one homer in each start and has walked a total of 12 batters.