First pitch: Sunday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

Felix Hernandez will be hoping to pick up a victory when the Mariners face the Cubs in Chicago on Sunday.

The Mariners have had a solid season thus far and currently find themselves right in the thick of the AL Wild Card race. If they can string together a few wins in a row then they’d be in solid shape, but things won’t be easy against this Cubs team. Fortunately for Seattle, RHP Felix Hernandez (5-4, 3.45 ERA, 58 K) will be on the mound for the team. Hernandez has not looked like his old self this season, but he is more than capable of throwing it back and having a vintage performance. And despite his struggles, Hernandez is still the only guy the Mariners would want on the mound in this big Sunday night spot. For the Cubs, RHP Kyle Hendricks (9-7, 2.39 ERA, 103 K) is the guy that will be taking the ball in this one. While it’s too early in the season to hand Chicago the division, this is a team that has its hopes on finishing the year with baseball’s best record and a Wild Card would be a major disappointment.

King Felix has struggled in his past two trips to the mound, allowing nine earned runs in his past 12.2 innings of work. Hitters have had no problem making contact off of him this season, as he has allowed seven or more hits in five of the past seven games. The Mariners will be hoping that he can turn things around with a good start against this loaded Cubs group on Sunday night. If Hernandez is hanging too many pitches high in the zone then Chicago is going to make him pay for that. Offensively, the Mariners don’t have many guys with much experience against Hendricks. That means that Seattle will be counting on its stars, 2B Robinson Cano and DH Nelson Cruz, to make an impact on Sunday. Both guys have been outstanding at the plate this season, as Cano has been getting on base all year and Cruz is currently on pace to hit right around 40 homers.

The Cubs are facing Felix Hernandez on Sunday, but they just might have the better guy on the mound in this one. Kyle Hendricks is not a household name, but he has been fantastic for Chicago this season. Hendricks has started 19 games for the Cubs on the year and he has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 17 of those starts. He has also allowed two or fewer runs in 15 of those starts. Hendricks does not make a lot of mistakes and that is a quality that should help in this game. If he can avoid giving up homers then it’s hard to imagine the Cubs losing this one. Offensively, the Cubs are going to be a bit similar to the Mariners in this one. Their lineup does not have a lot of experience against Hernandez, so it should be expected that their best players are the ones to watch out for in this one. With the way Hernandez has made mistakes this season, both 1B Anthony Rizzo and 3B Kris Bryant should be excited for this game. They both have a ton of power and could make things happen on Sunday.