All the Cubs had to do this week was not get swept by the Brewers. Tonight, they make their final stand.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:Â
- Daniel Murphy, 2B
- Javy Baez, SS
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, RF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Willson Contreras, C
- Jose Quintana, P
- Ian Happ, CF
I get the sense that after scoring a combined 4 runs in their past two games, Joe Maddon is getting serious about the lineup and offense, because I believe this is probably the Cubs best offensive group. Jason Heyward is on the DL, Albert Almora and Addison Russell are on the bench, David Bote is displaced by Kris Bryant, and Willson Contreras is behind the plate. If you’re going for offense, this is the way you set it up. The question is … Will it work?
Well, we’ll have to wait and see obviously, but it is worth pointing out Jhoulys Chacin’s splits, because they’re quite significant this season:
Versus Lefties: .261/.354/.410 (.333 wOBA)
Verus Righties: .184/.256/.3110 (.249 wOBA)
Fortunately, with Daniel Murphy, Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber, and Ian Happ all batting from the left side of the plate tonight, the Cubs should be well covered. Indeed, when Kris Bryant and Javier Baez are the guys you’re “supposed” to succeed against, you could be in store for a rough night (can you hear me pleading with the universe right now?).
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (7:10 CT).