The Cubs offense didn’t quite click the way they wanted in their first series of the year, but Joe Maddon is sticking with his Opening Day lineup against the righty, Tyler Mahle, today.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ian Happ, CF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Addison Russell, SS
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Tyler Chatwood, P
There’s really not much to dissect here, given that we’re very familiar with this particular lineup and defensive alignment. In short, this group boasts three natural lefties, plus a switch-hitter, perfect l/r balance until the end, and, of course, plenty of power throughout.
There’s also the gold glove caliber defenders in the middle infield, at first base, and in right field, quality defese behind the plate and in center, and one big boom stick out in left.
I’d normally get into Mahle’s splits a little more, but without much of a sample, we probably can’t put too much stock into his .399 wOBA against lefties.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (3:10 CT).