The Chicago Cubs and New York Mets are both putting themselves in position to be contenders throughout the season as they battle in a four-game series. At the moment the Cubs have the upper hard thanks to strong pitching. The Cubs are aiming to complete a four-game sweep of the Mets who currently sit at the top of National League East standings. A win on Thursday would be Chicago's seventh straight home win over the Mets.
The Cubs have been on a roll lately thanks to great pitching from Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Jason Hammel who have held the Mets' bats in check while posting a 1.67 ERA. Meanwhile the bullpen has improved from an 8.72 ERA to putting up five scoreless innings in three games. The improvement of the pitching is what has Chicago thriving at the moment. New York is batting .191 during the series while going 1 for 16 with runners in scoring position.
Chicago looks to keep momentum high as they put Travis Wood on the mound who is 2-2 with a 4.96 ERA on the season. The pitcher has struggled in the month of May, giving up 12 runs in two outings. He did look good in April with a 3.04 ERA in four starts. Wood has thrived at Wrigley field where he is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA. Overall on the road, Wood has a 7.71 ERA.
The Mets will start Jonathon Niese to try and avoid the sweep. The pitcher has a 3-2 record and 1.95 ERA on the season and could be the team's best bet to beat Chicago. Niese is finally healthy for the first time in two years and looking the part of a star for New York. In his last start he gave up two runs in seven innings in a win over the Phillies. However, he has struggled against the Cubs going 3-4 with a 5.16 ERA in eight starts against the team. Anthony Rizzo is 1 for 11 against him.