Chicago @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 4, 2015 ) Chi. Cubs 2, Arizona 4

Miguel Montero served the Arizona Diamondbacks well for nine seasons before he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs for a pair of minor-league pitchers in the offseason. The two-time All-Star backstop will square off against his former team for the first time since the December trade on Friday when the Cubs open a three-game set in Arizona.

Montero batted .264 with 97 home runs and 448 RBIs across 906 games with the Diamondbacks and is enjoying another productive season in his first year in Chicago, hitting .286 with four homers and 15 RBIs through 33 contests. However, the Cubs’ young bats stole the show in Thursday’s 3-0 win in San Diego as rookies Addison Russell and Kris Bryant each went deep in the rubber match. The Diamondbacks rebounded from getting swept in Philadelphia by completing their first four-game road sweep since April 2007 following their 7-6 victory in Miami on Thursday. Arizona has won five straight against Chicago and 12 of the last 17 meetings at home.

TV: 9:40 p.m. ET, CSN Chicago, FSN Arizona

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs LH Jon Lester (4-2, 3.70 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Josh Collmenter (3-5, 5.36)

After going 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA in four April outings, Lester improved to 4-0, 1.67 in as many May turns following Saturday’s 4-1 win versus Pittsburgh. The one sour note for the three-time All-Star, who allowed one run and scattered nine hits in seven frames, is that he has surrendered four homers over his last three games after giving up one in his first five. Aaron Hill (4-for-35) has more at-bats than the rest of his teammates combined against Lester, who is 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA in two career starts versus the Diamondbacks.

Collmenter’s awful month of May continued in Sunday’s 6-0 defeat at Philadelphia, which tagged him for four runs over six innings to drop him to 1-2 with an 11.30 ERA in three outings this month. The Central Michigan alum has done some of his best work in six career appearances (three starts) against the Cubs, however, going 1-0 with a 1.27 ERA. Anthony Rizzo (4-for-10 with a home run) has mostly thrived versus Collmenter, who has kept Dexter Fowler (5-for-21, homer) and Starlin Castro (2-for-8) mostly in check.

WALK-OFFS

1. After going 20 games before hitting his first big-league home run, Bryant has slugged five – to go along with 14 RBIs – over the next 12 games.

2. Arizona rookie 3B Yasmany Tomas notched his sixth consecutive multi-hit game with a 2-for-5 effort in Thursday’s win and is batting .484 during the run.

3. Chicago RHP Kyle Hendricks’ five-hit shutout on Thursday lowered the ERA of the Cubs’ starting pitchers over the last 11 games to 2.38.

PREDICTION: Cubs 6, Diamondbacks 2