The Chicago Cubs welcome the Toronto Blue Jays for a rare weekend visit to Wrigley Field.
Today marks the Blue Jays’ second visit to the Friendly Confines in franchise history, the first since 2005. In fact, Cubs assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske was the Jays’ first baseman, Roy Halladay was Toronto’s starter, and Ryan Dempster was the Cubs’ closer the last time this franchise visited Wrigley Field.
As for the present-day lineup tasked with getting the Cubs back in the win column as this series matchup resumes:
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, LF
- Ian Happ, 2B
- Victor Caratini, C
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, SS
- Jake Arrieta, P
JA Happ, a Northwestern University product and native of Peru, Ill., will take the mound against a team that is hitting .277 with a .361 on-base percentage, and .832 OPS against left-handed starters in 2017. Active members of the Cubs are slashing .328/.391/.475 in 71 plate appearances against Happ, led by Ben Zobrist who is 6-for-19, (.316 avg.) in 23 plate appearances. Anthony Rizzo has also seen the ball well against Happ, going 5-for-8 with two doubles and a home run.
It’s a bit surprising seeing Jon Jay out of the lineup considering his success (5-for-12) against Happ, but a breather for the left-handed hitting outfielder allows for a Happ-on-Happ happening with Zobrist in left and Ian Happ playing second for the Cubs.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (1:20 CT).