Tuesday will see an NLCS rematch at Sloan Park as the Chicago Cubs take on the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it will more importantly feature the spring debuts of three key players to the team’s chances at getting back to the postseason.
The most notable debut will be that of starting pitcher Yu Darvish, who will make his first start in a Cubs uniform after being scratched from his last outing due to illness.
Darvish, who pitched against the Cubs as a member of the Dodgers during that NLCS, signed a six-year deal with Chicago over the offseason and is hoping to turn the team’s rotation into the best in baseball this season.
Also making his spring debut will be veteran infielder Ben Zobrist. Zobrist, who has missed all of the team’s games thus far with back issues, will finally get into the lineup as the team tries to fit him into a playing time mix that also includes Javier Baez, Addison Russell, and Ian Happ.
Spring Training: Meet the New Cubs and White Sox
Finally, Cubs relief pitcher Brandon Morrow will also make his spring debut with the team. Morrow, who served as a set-up man with the Dodgers last season, is hoping to become the Cubs’ closer this season, and he will take his first step toward taking over that job when he faces the Dodgers in a relief role on Tuesday.
An audio stream of the game, which is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Central time, will be available on MLB.com.
