It’s been two full weeks since the Cubs last lost a series, but there’s one on the line this afternoon. Here’s how they’ll line up for the finale against Arizona.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Kris Bryant, LF
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Javy Baez, SS
- Willson Contreras, C
- David Bote, 3B
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Tyler Chatwood, P
- Mark Zagunis, RF
With an off-day tomorrow and Victor Caratini still on the mend, I’m not completely surprised to see Willson Contreras in there again today, but he has been playing a lot lately and you have to hope he starts getting a little more time off (as was originally planned). Obviously, he’s been playing as well as anybody in the game right now, but I think we all learned the importance of rest for your catcher last season.
With a traditional-split lefty, Robbie Ray, on the mound for the D-Backs today, I’m not surprised to see Albert Almora Jr. leading off. HOWEVA, since Ben Zobrist is in the lineup, I would’ve preferred his bat up top, as he’s seen lefties really well this season (3-7 with 4 walks in 11 PAs), and Almora has generally struggled.
In other notable substitutions, you’ll notice that Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward, and Daniel Descalso are all out of the lineup, which means Maddon has a very talented, but very left-handed bench. We’ll see how he wants to go about using it this afternoon. And in the meantime, David Bote and Mark Zagunis will make the most of their start.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (1:20 CT).