It's been a rough couple of starts for James Russell. The left handed reliever, who has filled in as part of a college of pitchers in the wake of Andrew Cashner's injury, has yet to make it five innings in a start. He came the closest his last time out, pitching 4.0 innings, but managed to give up four earned runs in the process.
The Cubs hope Russell can repeat his relief success against the Rockies as a starter tonight at Wrigley. Russell has thrown 1.1 innings against the Rockies in relief this year, giving up no runs in the process. Over his career against Colorado, he's pitched in five games and has a 2.57 ERA and 0.57 WHIP.
Colorado will send another southpaw to the mound to counter Russell. Jorge De La Rosa will make his first start of the season against the Cubs. On the year he's 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across four starts. In his most recent start, against San Francisco, he went seven innings while giving up two runs on just four hits. In his career against the Cubs, De La Rosa is 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA and 1.45 WHIP.
The intermittent storms are expected to continue tonight at Wrigley, with a low in the mid-40's. First pitch is at 7:05 P.M., CDT, and the game will be televised on WGN and ROOT Sports.