A win last night, and the Cubs are looking to make it two in a row in Cincinnati.
Chicago Cubs Lineup vs. Cincinnati Reds (John Lamb):
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Willson Contreras, LF
- Javy Baez, SS
- Matt Szczur, CF
- David Ross, C
- Jon Lester, P
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The Cubs are loading up with righties tonight against lefty John Lamb, with Willson Contreras holding down the fort yet again in left field, and Javy Baez taking a turn at shortstop.
Matt Szczur, and not Albert Almora, gets the start in center field. Given how well Szczur is playing this year – he’s hitting .290/.329/.464 (112 wRC+) in this kind of limited duty – I don’t think there’s any cause to complain. It is a reminder, though, that the Cubs can probably afford to send down Almora when Tommy La Stella returns, assuming the Cubs want Almora to get regular starts at AAA Iowa rather than be mostly a late-game defensive sub in the bigs right now. Szczur, unlike Almora, does not have any minor league options, and there is a zero percent chance he would clear waivers, given his upside and the volume of rebuilding teams out there.
David Ross catches Jon Lester, as he does, and once again gets to do so while the Cubs are facing a lefty. Nice when that works out.
We’ll have a full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time.
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