In case you missed the roster move that came out just before the lineup, the Cubs have activated Brett Anderson from the 60-Day Disabled List and have designated him for assignment.
If the Chicago Cubs want to win the Crosstown Cup, they will have to win the next two games of the series at Comiskey U.S. Cellular Guaranteed Rate Field. Which means tonight’s tilt is a must-win matchup.
Here is the lineup assigned to get the job done:
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Kyle Schwarber, DH
- Ian Happ, CF
- Jon Jay, LF
- Addison Russell, SS
- Victor Caratini, C
Immediately, you’ll note that Willson Contreras’ red-hot bat gets the night off. Contreras has 15 hits in 44 at-bats (.341 average) with a .750 slugging percentage in 10 games since the All-Star Break, but was due for a breather from his duties behind the plate. That leaves Caratini receiving pitches from tonight’s starter, Jake Arrieta.
Heyward and Schwarber return to the lineup after not starting against White Sox lefty Carlos Rodon, while Jay takes over in left field and allows Schwarber to slide into the designated hitter’s role.
Active Cubs are slashing .213/.315/.319 against White Sox starter James Shields, who has handcuffed Bryant (1-for-10, 7 strikeouts), Zobrist (1-for-8), and others throughout the lineup.*
As usual, we’ll have your Pre-Gamin’ a little closer to game time (7:10 CT).
*Michael: To be fair, Bryant went 0-4 with 3Ks against Shields in his Major League debut. There were probably a lot of nerves and expectations that go along with that. In reality, he’s more like 1-6 with 4Ks against Shields, which is … yeah, still not great.