The Cubs are beginning a fairly important, albeit short, series against the Brewers later today. And here’s how they’ll line up for Game 1.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:Â
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Javy Baez, SS
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Tommy La Stella, 3B
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Willson Contreras, C
- Jose Quintana, P
- Ian Happ, CF
By now, you should be able to guess the reason the lineup looks like it does today, but in case you need a hint, here’s, well, here’s the exact answer.
Jhoulys Chacin 2018 Splits:Â
Versus Righties:Â .184/.259/.312 (.253 wOBA)
Versus Lefties:Â .262/.357/.423 (.340 wOBA)
Pretty big difference, right? So Javy Baez, who hits righties better than Addison Russell, moves over to short to make room for Ben Zobrist at second base. With Zobrist at second, Baez at short, and Kris Bryant on the DL, Tommy La Stella takes the honor of covering the hot corner today. Sorry, David Bote fans.
Go buy a shirt in the meantime.
Dude. There is already a David Bote walk-off shirt, and it is awesome: https://t.co/EjuYiNw3uV pic.twitter.com/xc7KgC0Nfj
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 14, 2018
In the outfield, it’s all lefties, with Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ, and Jason Heyward spanning from left to right, leaving just Willson Contreras and Baez (and Jose Quintana, but whatevaaaa) with the split disadvantage against Chacin. Though to be fair, both Contreras (109 wRC+) and Baez (129 wRC+) have handled righties just fine this season.
We’ll have your Series Preview out shortly and, as usual, you’re full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (1:20 CT). In the meantime … Go Cubs!