The Cubs will try to take this four-game series today, and they’ll do it with the new-ish-look normal-ish lineup against old friend, Jeff Samardzija.
Here’s the lineup against the Giants:
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ian Happ, CF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Miguel Montero, C
- Javy Baez, SS
- Eddie Butler, P
There’s plenty to discuss regarding this lineup, but I’d like to point out that despite catching the majority of last night’s game, Miguel Montero is catching this afternoon too (which almost never happens in a day game following a night game). Of course, that likely means Willson Contreras is still hurting after taking a foul ball off his foot in the ninth. We’ll keep an eye on him, but hopefully the day off is all he needs.
Beyond that, the obvious items are that 1) Schwarber is not leading off again, 2) Ben Zobrist is leading off again, and 3) Addison Russell is out while Javy Baez covers short. And further beyond that, Ian Happ is still in center field and with an OPS over 1.000. Groovy.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (1:20pm CT).