After a brief hiatus – and an even briefer, but impressive late-inning return last night – the Chicago Cubs second baseman, Javier Baez, is back in the starting lineup today – batting third, no less – against the Marlins.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Albert Almora, CF
- Kris Bryant, RF
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Willson Contreras, C
- David Bote, 3B
- Ian Happ, LF
- Addison Russell, SS
- Jose Quintana, P
And I’m especially glad to see that, given the splits of today’s opposing starter, Wei-Yin Chen.
Career Splits:
Versus Lefties: .289 wOBA
Versus Righties: .333 wOBA
But Baez is not the only righty re-entering the lineup tonight. Albert Almora is out in center field and leading off (for obvious reasons), and David Bote is getting his third big-league start, as Kris Bryant moves out to right (it’s nice to have such a versatile lineup, eh?). Meanwhile, Willson Contreras returns to his post behind the plate and Ian Happ gets another start in left field, instead of Ben Zobrist.
And because Jose Quintana bats from the right side of the plate, Anthony Rizzo is the only lefty in the lineup this afternoon. Rizzo has slashed just .138/.219/.241 (29 wRC+) against lefties this season, but he’s been much better in that regard throughout his career: .246/.349/.434 (115 wRC+).
Also, Brett’s forcing me to remind you I’d like to strongly suggest you check out today’s bullets, which, I’ll say, under no external pressure, were exceptionally good today, but sadly came out just before this lineup was published.
The Cubs’ Disgusting Bullpen, Caratini Stands His Ground, Bote’s Arrival, and Other Bullets https://t.co/xXED5vTdIY pic.twitter.com/GYWU07VpgH
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 9, 2018
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (1:20)