The Cubs come on home to Wrigley Field to host the American League Twins, with youngster Jose Berrios on the mound this afternoon.
Here’s how they’ll line up against him:
- Albert Almora, CF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Addison Russell, SS
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Ian Happ, 3B
- Chris Gimenez, C
- Mike Montgomery, P
With Kris Bryant on the DL, Willson Contreras getting a day off, and Javy Baez out of the lineup thanks to the arrival of his baby, this is not the most imposing on-paper lineup the Cubs can throw out there.
That said, Berrios has exploded this year as a guy who doesn’t walk anyone and also strikes out a ton of guys, so maybe you’d prefer to have a high-contact-type lineup anyway. He’s also split-neutral thanks to the neutralizing effects of his curveball and changeup, so there’s no real you-gotta-have-this-guy-in-there going on.
Hopefully the Cubs can carry forward the offensive heat they started building late in that Dodgers series, and maybe Berrios will feel a little bit of extra energy – too much energy! – pitching at Wrigley Field. A guy can hope.
We’ll have more in the Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (4:05 pm CT).