After last night’s 9-0 whomping of the Angels, Cubs skipper Joe Maddon went ahead and shook up the lineup for tonight’s contest. Let’s check out some of the differences from yesterday’s arrangement, and see what we can make of them.
Tonight’s Lineup vs. the Angels (Heaney):
- Dexter Fowler, CF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Jorge Soler, DH
- Addison Russell, SS
- Matt Szczur, LF
- David Ross, C
Pitcher: Jon Lester
So, coming out of the lineup are Miguel Montero and Kyle Schwarber, and going in are David Ross and Matt Szczur. We already knew that Ross would be behind the plate tonight, with Jon Lester starting, but it is a mild surprise to see Schwarber sitting in favor of Szczur.
[adinserter block=”1″]Then again, the Angels do have lefty Andrew Heaney going, though, and he has been particularly tough on lefties throughout his career. For example, since reaching the majors in 2014, lefties have hit just .225/.265/.313 with a 23.2% strike out rate and just a 4.5% walk rate, while righties have slashed a much better .263/.330/.441 while striking out far less (15.2%) and walking a bit more (6.9%). I don’t suspect Schwarber to be strictly platooned this season, but Heaney is a tough lefty who just so happens to be noticeably better against other southpaws.
Other changes to the lineup include Kris Bryant hitting third, swapping with Ben Zobrist; however, we knew that this, too, was coming. Throughout the Spring, Maddon’s lineups hinted that Bryant would bat third with a lefty on the mound (with Zobrist fifth) and vice versa. So, no surprises there.
It’s another late one tonight, but I’m actually more excited than I was yesterday. Let’s go get two.