Tonight, the Chicago Cubs play what is likely their most important game of the season (although, that’s bound to be the case for every game the rest of the year!).
A win and you feel pretty good about their chances, a loss and things look a bit tougher. Hopefully, with little lineup shake-up, the offense can really get rolling. Or maybe it would have gotten rolling anyway.
Chicago Cubs Lineup v. Los Angeles Dodgers (Rich Hill):
- Dexter Fowler, CF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Ben Zobrist, LF
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Jorge Soler, RF
- Addison Russell, SS
- Miguel Montero, C
- Jake Arrieta, P
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First and foremost, we should note that Miguel Montero is getting the start behind the plate, despite the lefty, Rich Hill, on the mound. But, as Brett pointed out on Twitter, Hill doesn’t have huge lefty/righty splits. And, if you weren’t going to start Montero in games also started by Jake Arrieta, I’m not quite sure he would have made his way onto the roster.
But fear not, because the Cubs found a way to sneak a bit more offense into the lineup, by swapping out Jason Heyward’s left-handed bat in right field in favor of Jorge Soler’s right-handed bat (in left field, by way of Ben Zobrist moving). Plus, Javy Baez and Zobrist move up, as Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell (who have struggled) move down.
And we’ll have a full Pre-Gamin’ for you close to game time.