The Cubs are debuting a new starting pitcher tonight, Cole Hamels, but the offense will have to support him if he’s going to get his first win as a Cub.
Here’s how they’ll line up behind him.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:Â
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Javy Baez, 3B
- Ian Happ, CF
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Willson Contreras, C
- Cole Hamels, P
- Addison Russell, SS
As expected, the Anthony Rizzo leadoff experiment isn’t really an experiment anymore. He’s the Cubs leadoff hitter and is killing it, and I’m very here for that. Plus, with “Mr. 300,” Javy Baez, and Ben Zobrist (more on him later) also batting among the top four spots, the Cubs have their hottest hitters getting the most hacks.
Meanwhile, Jason Heyward has cooled off considerably here in the second half, slashing .227/.333/.295 in 51 PAs since the All-Star break. HOWEVA, he does have an excellent 13.7% walk rate that happens to be even higher than his excellent 11.8% strikeout rate. The issue, it seems, is that … oh geez … he’s been hitting a ton of grounders (60.5%) and making a ton of soft contact (31.6%). Those are actually pretty scary numbers and if they continue, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a quick day or two off.
The good news for Heyward – and all the Cubs lefties tonight – is that Nick Kingham has allowed a .377 wOBA against lefties this season, which is 100 points higher than what he’s allowed against righties. I’d really like to see Kyle Schwarber, in particular, have a big night, because he, too, has cooled off lately.
There are really no surprises in the lineup tonight, so let’s see if the Cubs can avoid the two-game sweep. As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (6:05 CT).